Witch Spell
by Jade Nocturna
Summary: Raven has a secret. It is a secret that killed Slade, ruined her mother's mind, and will end her life, if anyone were to know it. Raven is the Gem; the one born to be the Portal in the Prophecy. She was born to be sacrificed for her father, Trigon. Then Beast Boy comes along. He is as natural as the sun and treats her as if she is extraordinary. And everything starts to change.
1. Prologue

I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be killed.

Now, if you please.

I don't mean to be difficult, but I can't bear to tell my story. I can't relive those memories—the touch of Trigon's Hand, the smell of copper, the gulp and swallow of the Sea of Fire.

How can you possibly think me innocent? Don't let my face fool you; it tells the worst lies. A girl can have the face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart.

I know you believe you're giving me a chance—or, rather, it's Robin giving me the chance. He's desperate, of course, not to lose another innocent friend to the hand of evil, but please believe me: Nothing in my story will absolve me of guilt. It will only prove what I've already told you, which is that I'm wicked. Can't Robin take my word for it?

In any event, where does he expect me to begin? The story of a wicked girl has no true beginning. I'd have to begin with the day I was born.

If Beast Boy were to tell the story, he'd likely begin with himself, on the day he arrived in Jump City. That's where proper stories begin, don't they, when the "handsome stranger" arrives and everything goes wrong?

But this isn't a proper story, and I'm telling you, I ought to be killed.


	2. Chapter One: Teen Titans Go!

"I want to go home." I turned from the city and closed my eyes, as though I could wish away the city, and the alien that was terrorizing it, and the group of teenagers who were fighting against her. But life doesn't work that way, more's the pity.

"We can't leave now," said Father. "It would hurt my feelings, don't you see?"

But I didn't see. I never saw, not about feelings. "I want to go home."

People thronged the city sidewalks, but they gave the group of teenagers plenty of room. I'd forgotten that, forgotten how they left people like us a cushion of air. We'd always be outsiders, even though the robot's spent his whole life here, and the boy in tights has spent a year.

"It won't be long before we are reunited," said Father. "Almost six months."

_Almost six months._

Father nudged me. "Go."

I went.

The alien picked up a bus with her restraints and threw it toward the boy in tights and the green one in a purple jumpsuit; they leapt out of the way, allowing the robot in a hoodie and sweatpants to catch the bus and toss it to the side.

The robot grunted. "Yo," he cried loudly. "Who's here messin' up my neighborhood?"

The green one cowered in front of him and pointed toward the female alien. "She started it."

The alien let out a scream as she slammed her hands into the asphalt below her. The tops of her restraints fell off, revealing her hands. She smiled and aimed them in the boys' directions as a green light emitted from her palms.

Green orbs of light shot off toward the boys, who ran for cover behind the discarded bus. When the dust settled, the boy in tights glanced at the alien. She slumped to the ground on her knees.

"Girl's gonna wreck the whole city," said the robot.

"I won't let her," the boy in tights declared. "I won't lose this fight." He turned and led the boys toward the girl.

I frowned, causing a wall of black energy to form between the boys and the alien. I stepped out of the shadows. "Maybe fighting isn't the answer," I said calmly.

The boys turned to look at me. I could only imagine what they were thinking. Perhaps, by the end of this story, we'll know. I imagine seeing a girl hidden underneath an indigo cloak would come off a little weird to normal people. But I'm not normal. And neither are they.

"Stand down," said the boy in tights when he looked back to the alien.

"What, do you think you're the boss or somethin'," asked the robot with a raised fist, as if he wanted to challenge the boy in tights.

"Just give me a chance," he ordered. He approached the alien slowly.

When she caught sight of him, she immediately got to her feet and pointed her glowing green hands at the boy. She let out a threatening growl from her pretty lips. I don't like boys either.

"Easy," said the boy. "My name is Robin. And I don't wanna hurt you; I just wanna help." He reached down to one of his many pockets and pulled out a fantastic bit of curled wire: a paper clip.

The alien frowned and let off a stream of words that even I couldn't understand.

"It's okay," said Robin with a smile. "Look." He held up the paper clip, and inserted it into the lock of the restraints. After a few moments, they fell from the alien's arms.

She rubbed them gratefully and looked up at Robin.

"There," he said. "Now maybe we can be—"

Before he could finish, she grabbed his neck and pulled him into her, connecting their lips. Kissing? People kissing? We don't go for that sort of thing in Azarath.

She released him and pushed him to the ground. "If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone!" She flew off, leaving the rest of us without any words.

The rest of us…not including the green one. "So," he said as he turned toward the robot, "I'm Beast Boy. Who are you?"

The robot ignored him. "Well, whoever she was, the girl sure knows how to make an impression."

Beast Boy smiled. "I think _we_ made a pretty good impression. Crazy Space Girl's gone, the city's saved—mission accomplished, right, sir?"

"Seriously," said Robin, "stop calling me that."

"Roger."

"Looks like we're done here. I appreciate the help." Robin turned and started walking in the direction the alien had flown off in.

"You're gonna track down the alien," I asked, though I don't know why, because it was obvious.

"I have to find out if she's a threat," he replied.

The robot scoffed. "More like find out if she'll give him another kiss."

Beast Boy chased after Robin. "Hey, sir—I mean, Robin. Do you maybe—"

"Sorry," said Robin curtly. "I just went solo. I'm not really looking to join a team."

"Need a sidekick?"

Robin walked away.

Beast Boy turned toward me and the robot and said, "You guys wanna get a pizza?"

The robot started to walk away. I followed him with my eyes. I wasn't aware that I had been staring until Beast Boy caught my attention. I shouldn't stare. It's not polite. It's not what normal people would do. Normal people would say "yes" to the pizza. But then again, I'm not normal.

"I'm Beast Boy," said the green child. An introduction would not make me go with him.

"You may call me Raven," I said, "which makes it awfully convenient because so does everyone else."

After a hiccough of silence, Beast Boy laughed. I didn't. "Cool. So Raven, do you wanna go—"

"I shouldn't," I told Beast Boy, who seemed a little discouraged at my answer. I don't know why. I watched him as he hurried after the robot.

"Just you and me, then, huh? Cool. I haven't really had anyone to hang out with since I quit the Doom Patrol. This is gonna be fun. Can we play video games?" He talked so much that he hadn't even realized that the robot had stopped walking; Beast Boy ran into his back and fell onto his butt.

The robot pulled his hood off of his head and revealed his distorted face. "There!" he cried, as if proving someone's point. "Take a good long look! I had an accident, and now I'm a monster, alright? A cyborg!"

He thinks _he's_ a monster? He has no idea what he's talking about. I would kill to be like him. I would gladly change places with the robot. But like I said before, life's not fair like that.

"Cyborg," said Beast Boy, obviously unfazed. "Cool! You're like Robot Man 2.0!"

"You're a weird little dude, you know that?"

Beast Boy laughed. "You called me 'dude'."

Cyborg began to walk away again and drew his hood up.

"Okay, so, see you later? Right? Dude?"

A shadow passed over us, and it wasn't mine. Mine are more ominous; scarier. I would know if this shadow had been created from my dark energy. But it wasn't mine. I looked up as Beast Boy pointed at an alien ship in the sky.

"Looks like Space Girl had friends," said Cyborg.

Robin passed by me. I wondered when he had decided to turn around and join us again. "Or enemies," he said with a glare as a large, orange projectile fell on a secluded island.

A projection of a crossbreed between a man and a frog—or maybe some type of fish—was displayed in the sky. "People of Earth," he said. "We come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner—a dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But should you attempt to assist her, your destruction will be absolute."

The projection disappeared, and the orange projectile opened up, revealing many more clones of the frog-man/man-fish.

Cyborg frowned. "That's a big ship," he commented.

"And those are some scary lookin' aliens," said Beast Boy as the frog/fish-people began to fly out in groups.

"They told us not to interfere," I said calmly.

Cyborg turned toward Robin. "You're still going after her, aren't you?"

Robin nodded.

Beast Boy, too excited, said, "Can we come too?" I don't know why he assumed I would want to go with them.

"I suppose I _could_ team up…just this once," said Robin with a smile. No doubt he didn't truly mean the words he said.

I watched the boys go off and turned around to stick to my original plan: _not_ interfering.

"You in," said Robin suddenly.

I looked back and realized that he was talking to me. If he knew who he was talking to, he wouldn't have asked me that question. "I'm not the 'hero' type. Trust me, if you knew what I really am, you wouldn't want me around."

He put his hand on my shoulder. How long has it been since I've had real contact with someone? "I know enough," he said with a smile. He turned toward everyone and said, "Alright, we need some way to track—"

"She's near," I said without thinking. I immediately regretted it when I saw the strange looks they gave me. "I can sense things," I said quickly, trying to atone for my mistake. I can do a whole lot more, too.

"I'll see if I can pick up her scent," said Beast Boy with a smile. He bent down and morphed into a green dog. I wasn't surprised so much as intrigued. I had wondered how he'd gotten his name.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "There's a sonic analyzer built into my arm," he stated as he rolled up his right arm's sleeve. "If she's around, I'll hear it." A section of his arm lifted and began to beep.

The green dog suddenly morphed back into Beast Boy. "I've got her trail," he yelled quickly before he turned back into a dog.

Cyborg looked down at his arm as it beeped wildly. "And I can hear her heartbeat." He and Beast Boy led us down the street to a video game store, which had a large hole in the wall.

Inside, we found the alien scarfing down large amounts of food. She didn't bother to remove any of the plastic bits.

"Um," said Beast Boy. "Those taste better without the wrapper."

She turned on us with green eyes and held her glowing hands out to us with a threatening growl.

Robin said quickly, "It's alright. We're friends, remember?"

"Friends," she repeated. "Why? For what purpose did you free me?"

"Just trying to be nice," he replied, unsure of his answer. Weak-minded people are never sure of their answers. If he truly wanted to make a difference in our current situation, he would've said it with more confidence.

"Nice? We do not have this word on my planet. Closest is _rutha_—weak."

"Well, around here, 'nice' means 'nice'," said Cyborg. "And if you want us to keep being nice, you better tell us why the Lizard King took you prisoner."

The alien relaxed. "Not prisoner," she said sadly. "I am…prize. The Gordanians deliver me to the Citadel to live out my days as their servant."

"And the Citadel are…" I said.

"Not nice," she replied.

"Then you're not going with them," said Robin, stepping forward. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Don't you mean 'we'," said Beast Boy pointedly.

A blast of explosion knocked us all to our feet as the wall on the other side of the store gave out. From the hole came more of the lizard-people. "Seize her," they cried.

_Seize her_. I used to be the "her" to be seized. I used to be the "her" that people were looking for. If I could feel emotion, I would be glad that the alien now qualifies as "her".

The lizard-people charged at us.

I found myself underneath Beast Boy. Without offering any gratitude—not like he really deserved any—I pushed him to the side and met our foes from a higher level. Flying is easier for me to do than walking. Walking is tiresome. Flying is effortless.

We managed to defeat the first group of lizard-people, but the second group proved to be more difficult. The alien was thrown through the wall, creating yet another hole. While Robin left to help her, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I were left to force the remaining lizard-people out onto the streets.

As the toughest, Cyborg was immediately singled out. The lizard-people pointed their spears at the robot and shot beams of light at him. At first, he proved to be capable of dodging them, but the lizards soon proved to be too much for him. When the dust settled, Cyborg was revealed to have survived…but his cover-up hadn't.

Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and carried Cyborg into the sky. He must have forgotten that the lizard-people can fly—I hadn't.

My eyes flicked over to a streetlamp and lifted the object into the air. With a flourish of my hands, I used the blunt object to remove the lizard-people from the sky.

After that, the lizard-people gave up and flew away into the night.

The alien turned toward Cyborg. "I believe your expression is 'thanks'."

Cyborg ignored her; obviously he believed that he had bigger problems. He picked at the pieces of torn cloth scattered around his body. "Aw, man—my suit!"

"So?" said Beast Boy. "You look way cooler without it!"

"Yeah," said Cyborg, obviously not convinced. "Like I'm taking fashion advice from the guy in the goofy mask."

"Goofy?" For the first time since I'd met him, Beast Boy wasn't smiling. "My mask is cool. Isn't it? Raven?"

Cyborg and I shook our heads respectively.

"But what about my secret identity?"

I frowned. "What secret identity? You're green," I said simply, stating the obvious.

After  
several moments, Beast Boy took off his mask and tossed it onto the ground. I noticed that his spiked hair was also green.

"This isn't over," said Robin. "Now that we've interfered—"

"Trogar will strike harder," the alien finished. "It is only a matter of—"

I pointed toward another projection, stopping the alien in her tracks.

"Fools," cried the lizard that I assumed was Trogar. "The Earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be destroyed."

Doesn't he know that this city has already been claimed by my father? The whole planet, as a matter of fact, has been claimed. Father will not be pleased if I fail my mission.

Trogar's large ship aimed its cannon at us.

"Great," I mumbled.

"So," said Beast Boy, "after trashing a pizza joint and a perfectly good video store, now we've managed to make a humungous space gecko mad enough to vaporize our entire town?"

"Go team," Cyborg muttered. I agreed with his lack of enthusiasm. Perhaps they were not the best people to stay around. But who am I to judge?

"All the fault is yours," cried the alien in an angry voice at Robin. "I commanded that you leave me alone, but you insisted upon the being nice!"

"My fault," Robin raged. "You blast me, you kiss me, but you never stop to mention they have a gigantic particle weapon?"

As they continued to argue, Beast Boy yelled, "We are doomed!" He pointed an accusing finger at Cyborg. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"

"Say what?" cried Cyborg.

I placed my fingers on my temples, trying not to allow my emotions to be swayed. Emotions cause bad things. I can't allow myself to feel.

"I was ready to walk before you—"

"_Quiet_!" I yelled suddenly, silencing them all. My voice echoed through the streets. The team turned to look at me, as if I was supposed to say more. In a time like this, normal people would try to "act normal". I looked down at the floor as if I was shy—which I'm not—and said, "Hi."

"Look," said Robin, "it doesn't matter how we got into this mess—we're in it. And we will get out of it. Together."

We nodded.

Robin smiled. "Come on. We've got a city to save."

After we wasted much time on deciding _how_ we were going to get on board the ship, I decided that the best way would be to do it _my_ way. After gathering the group in a circle, I encased us with a shadow of dark energy. I closed my eyes, even though I already knew that I wouldn't be able to see anything with them open. When we emerged from the darkness, we found ourselves in the middle of a hallway.

Beast Boy shivered. "That dark energy stuff gives me the—" He stopped when he realized that I was standing beside him. "I mean, it's cool!" he said quickly, as if that would somehow make up for whatever he'd been about to say.

"We have to get to the firing controls," Robin whispered. "There isn't much time." He led the group down the hall.

We would've had more time if I had moved us earlier. Stupid. So stupid.

_Irrelevant_, my father would say. _Move on._

"Mind telling me why you're always by yourself?" said Cyborg.

"You heard the kid," I told him simply. "I don't exactly fit in."

Cyborg smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. What is it with humans and physical contact? "He's green, half of me is metal, and she's from space—you fit in just fine." He pulled me along until I was walking in front of him.

I'm trying to leave. Don't they understand that? The more they accept me, the easier it will be for me refuse this mission. They could be spared if they weren't so stupid.

"I bring you apology," said the alien to Robin.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "I'm sorry I yelled, too."

"And again, you are nice," she said with a hint of wonder. "On my world, only my _k'norfka_ has shown me such kindness."

"Well, things are different here."

Even before this time now, when they are together and happy, I knew that the two of them were experiencing the well-known "sparks" that one gets in their hearts when they feel an attraction. I am lucky that I will never have to experience such things.

"I think they know we're here," said Beast Boy as he pointed at a group of lizard-people who were running toward us from both directions.

"Lord Trogar," said a lizard from the other side of the wall. "The weapon has reached full power."

"Then begin the firing sequence," said a muted Lord Trogar. "The earth scum shall learn it takes more than five juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Trogar."

Robin placed one of his gadgets on the wall, creating a hole. Holes seem to be recurring mode of transport for us, for we rushed into the room. "We're not five heroes," said Robin, "we're one team."

Lord Trogar growled. Apparently, it was enough for the other lizards to decide to fight us.

Beast boy changed into a kangaroo and took out two of them. Lord Trogar snuck up on him and threw him into the wall. As Beast Boy slumped to the ground, the lizard-man charged forward, fist raised.

On impulse, I traveled to the ground in front of Beast Boy and created a shield with my left hand. Lord Trogar beat down on the shield, causing me to use both of my hands. I was forced to the ground as my attacker hit harder. His last blow caused me to lose my concentration, and my shield fell.

Robin jumped onto the lizard-man's back and managed to get him away from me. He was, of course, thrown off, but Robin was quick to get back on his feet. He was not, however, quick enough to avoid being thrown into the wall as well.

The alien screamed, "Robin," and turned on Lord Trogar with glowing green hands. She fought him pretty well, but ended up being tossed to the ground.

I turned toward Beast Boy and helped him stand. "Are you…okay?" I don't really care, but I asked because I know that I'm thought of as a part of the "team" now.

He smiled at me. "I am now. Thanks."

"No problem." I looked up and realized that Lord Trogar and the lizard-people had surrounded the others. "Get away from my friends!" I shouldn't get angry. I shouldn't let myself feel. And I should never say these words: "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

I wish I could say what happened next, but I don't really know. A ball of black energy might've exploded in the room, which would explain why the entire ship fell into the river below us, but I can't really say for sure.

Lord Trogar stood up—the only lizard-person survivor—and faced me. As his claws grew, I looked up into his face and realized that I was going to die.

Good. I wanted to die. I was almost sorry that Beast Boy would have to die too, but it would be for a good cause. If I die, the Earth is saved.

A blast of an electric current was shot into Lord Trogar's back. With a loud grunt, he fell to the ground. Whether he was dead or unconscious, I will never be able to say, but all that mattered was that he would not be able to kill me. I would live. And I wasn't happy about it.

"Alright," said Cyborg as his right hand turned from a cannon into a hand again, "I'm only gonna say this once: Boo-yah!"

Clean up afterwards was boring. Somewhere during that time, the alien left. When the boys and I were finally done, the sun had already risen. We climbed up the island and stared out at the city.

Everyone was thinking it; I just might've been the only one who could say it. "That's quite a view." And it was. The sun hadn't completely cleared all of the tops of the buildings yet, so it created a beautiful horizon. It almost reminded me of Azarath.

"Somebody oughta build a house out here," said Cyborg.

Beast Boy smiled. "Yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach…" He elbowed me.

I found myself laughing. It had been ages since I'd heard my own laugh. It was rusty, but serviceable. "You know, you're kinda funny," I told him. I regret saying that to him now.

"You think I'm funny? Dude, I know some jokes!"

"Please," said the alien as she returned, "I look nice?" She had changed clothes. It all still looked like space get-up to me, but she didn't look bad in it.

"I still don't know your name," said Robin.

"In your language, it would be Star…fire."

"Welcome to Earth, Starfire."

"I thank you all for your bravery and help. And I wish to ask permission to remain here, where the people are most strange…but also most kind."

"You don't need our permission," I told her. Especially not mine.

"But if you want our friendship," said Robin, "you've got it."

Cyborg shrugged. "I guess we could all use some friends."

Beast Boy smiled and said, "Besides, we kinda made a good team."

Robin nodded. "I thought we might wanna keep in touch, so Cyborg and I designed these." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three communicators. Beast Boy, Starfire, and I took one.

"Made 'em out of my own circuits," said Cyborg.

I don't know whether to be impressed or slightly disgusted at that.

Robin smiled and looked us each in the eye. "When there's trouble, you know who to call."

I looked away, at the horizon, where I felt comfortable. If only they knew…


	3. Chapter Two: The Final Exam

It wasn't long before we built a home for us on that island. Even now, I can remember Robin asking us to build it in the shape of a "T". "For our name," he had said, "the Teen Titans." He even went so far as to call it Titan Tower.

After defeating Lord Trogar, things were pretty slow in Jump City. We didn't have many villains to fight—unless you count the everyday carjacker or robber. For the most part, we sat at home and tried to live together without killing each other.

That wasn't very effective.

Most days I kept to my books. Some days I would read stories, but I mostly read more spells. It was tedious work that I didn't enjoy, but it was _something_—as long as it kept me distracted.

I need a distraction. From everything.

Putting aside our differences, the place itself was a mess. I'm pretty sure that my room was the only thing clean in the Tower. The kitchen was always the worst of it. Old coffee cups, dishes, and clothing articles were everywhere. I was so afraid of what the refrigerator held that I had taken to fasting. The living room was no better. CDs, DVDs, game systems, video games, and even _more_ soda cans and clothing pieces had been scattered all over the floor.

It was no wonder that Cyborg and Beast Boy had lost so many of their things.

"Aw, man," Cyborg yelled. "Come on! It's gotta be around here someplace." He groaned and placed the sofa back down on the floor. "I don't believe this. How could you lost the remote," he asked Beast Boy, who was sniffing around the floor as a dog.

Beast Boy morphed back into his original form. "What makes you so sure _I_ lost it?" He threw books around as he continued his search.

"Uh, 'cause you're _you_," said Cyborg as they faced each other.

"Hey! Just because I lost that video game—"

"And the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron…"

"Things disappear. How am I supposed to know where they go?"

Understandably, I'd had enough of their arguing. I glared at them over the top of my book, wondering how I had come to be in the mix of the company of such idiots.

"Well, how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote," cried Cyborg.

I slammed my book shut and stood up. "Simple. You just get up and change the channel."

Cyborg frowned. "Don't even joke like that."

"I _wasn't_ joking."

"Good, 'cause it wasn't funny! Now either help us look for the remote or go back to…"

I shook my head, drowning him out. "This is a pointless argument over a useless device. You are wasting your energy and obstructing my concentration."

"I'm telling ya, I didn't lose it," cried Beast Boy. "You were the one watching TV last. So if you wanna blame someone, look in the mirror—"

"Whoa, take it easy, Titans," said Robin as he and Starfire entered the room. "Combat practice is this afternoon."

Starfire smiled. "We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them." She went to the refrigerator. I made sure to put a little more distance between myself and the kitchen, just in case something from inside there was to try and devour my being.

"I don't need food," Cyborg bellowed. He started another argument that involved him putting the blame on Beast Boy, who was trying to put the blame on him, while Robin and I tried to separate them from each other.

Starfire yelped and shot a green laser into the refrigerator. I turned around, hoping to get a sight of the creature before it gobbled her up. Instead, blue liquid exploded from the machine, covering all five of us in it. I was most unfortunate not to have had my hood on at that time. At the very least, though, I _had_ been wearing the rest of my cloak, so my body was protected from the blast.

"Maybe we should just go out for pizza," said Robin.

We did that, but it was no better than being at home. We couldn't even decide on a pizza together.

"Black olives and mushrooms," said Robin.

"Nobody else likes onions," asked Beast Boy. I do, but I would never tell him that, for fear of the rest of the team thinking that we have something in common.

Cyborg pointed at the menu with excitement. "Pepperoni!"

Starfire said in a quiet voice, "What are anchovies?"

I frowned. "Can we _please_ just order something?"

"As long as it's vegetarian," said Beast Boy.

"Come on, man," Cyborg whined. "How can you deny me the all-meat experience?"

"Dude! I've _been_ most of those animals!"

Starfire raised her hand. "I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting." She smiled as if we were all supposed to agree with her.

I nudged Robin. I would've told her the truth, but I know how important it is for him to be close to her. Robin leaned toward her and whispered, "Starfire, not everything on the menu's a pizza topping."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Double pepperoni," cried Cyborg.

"I'm _not_ eating meat," Beast Boy declared, shaking the menu in Cyborg's face.

"There's no meat in pepperoni!"

"I wanted onions!"

The sudden sound of a bus honking its horn as it rolled down the street caught all of our attention. We stood up to see what was going on. Personally, I was glad to have something else to deal with other than the arguing.

Below us, a baby in a carriage cried out loudly. Isn't that always how it is? The heroes are forced to save an innocent from impending doom.

Robin said, "Titans, go!" And we did.

Starfire flew the child to safety while Cyborg stood at the front of the bus and pushed against it. I stretched out my hand, and used my dark energy to put the bus in park.

Cyborg peered inside as the bus came to a stop before me. "Don't buses normally have drivers?"

Robin held up a dark green teddy bear from the carriage. "And don't baby carriages normally have babies?"

The teddy bear turned its head so that it faced us with its sewed-on smile. "Are you pant-sniffers normally this stupid?" Its yellow eyes emitted lightning, sending Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin into the air.

I was too distracted watching them that I hadn't noticed that someone was picking up the bus. I don't know what made me do it, but I grabbed Cyborg's arm and cloaked us in darkness. The bus dropped onto me and Cyborg, burying us into the ground. I felt nothing.

Someone laughed outside of the bus. "That was too easy. What a bunch of cludge-heads. You guys wanna get pizza?"

"This isn't over," cried Robin.

"That's our cue," Cyborg mumbled as he raised his right arm. The blast sent the bus into the air, freeing us from our dark prison. "We're just getting started," he told our three assailants.

It took me only a minute to assess them. Their shortest member was a bald kid with gray goggles who probably didn't even come up to my hip. His green jumpsuit had been accessorized with a gray mechanical kit on his back.

The only girl in the group was even paler than I was and had pink hair that was styled in a way that reminded me of Satan. I would've said the devil if I didn't already know him to be my father. Her outfit, though, reminded me of a purple jester.

The largest member was even taller than Cyborg, who was definitely the tallest member of our group. His muscles spilled out of his yellow and black tank top. He wild orange hair made him seem even more frightening.

"Who are these guys," said Beast Boy as he climbed out of a trash can and removed an old banana from his head. "And what's a cludge-head?"

The bald kid smiled. "We are the Hive."

"Your worst nightmare," said the giant.

The jester smiled. "And this is attack pattern Alpha." To my surprise, she chose me as her target. I was so unprepared that I was barely able to avoid her first punch.

I wasn't able to see who my team members were fighting, but I know at one point, Starfire was forced to fly about Cyborg, who had a rocket stuck to his back.

The jester threw two more punches, which I was able to dodge easily. When I had found an opening, I threw one right back. She held up a hand and blocked me. "You fight like a boy."

I'm pretty sure that was an insult. I would love to learn to box! I wish I'd thought to want boxing lessons. If I had, my mother would have seen to it, I assure you. She thought girls should study whatever they liked. She knew the truth. She knew that learning to run a household or following your place in a man's society was a waste of a girl's time.

I'd been so lost in my memories that I hadn't noticed the bald kid. He stood over the jester on mechanical legs that made him look like a spider. "And you're gonna croak like a frog," he cried as his pack began to glow.

I was thrown into the air and landed into Robin. I'm not sure if he meant to catch me, or if I was thrown into him, but I probably would've felt less pain if I had only hit the street.

That was when I felt it—the anger. It was rising up within me. If I didn't stop it, it was going to consume me. I held my head in an effort to contain my anger.

"Beast Boy," yelled Robin as he took off down the street.

The giant held a green elephant over his head. "Mammoth's gonna make _you_ extinct." He tossed the green animal into the air.

Before he landed on Robin, Beast Boy had the sense to change back into his original form. "Is it me," he asked, "or are we getting our butts kicked?"

I frowned and stood up. "It's just you," I said simultaneously with Robin.

"Listen up, team," said Robin. "I have a plan."

I never got to hear his plan. I was thrown into the air again by a ball of yellow light that struck the ground at my feet. Beast Boy landed badly on his ankle.

"Are you okay," I asked him.

"I think I'm alright."

The ground tore open, and Robin screamed. Beast Boy and I hurried over to the opening, but we saw no sign of Robin. All we saw was the green sludge that ran underneath the city.

"Robin!" Beast Boy yelled.

I took hold of his hand and pulled him into the sewers below before the Hive could attack us again. Once we were sure that we were safe, Beast Boy searched the ground, while I flew ahead.

I thought it was me who had killed him. I had been angry again. But a second glance at the hole in the street told me that it was the hive who had taken Robin away from us. My angry wouldn't have been as controlled as that. It would've done more damage. It would've taken more lives.

Beast Boy tripped and fell onto some rocks. I stopped what I was doing and went over to him. "You _are_ hurt," I told him. I was angry with him for lying to me. I wanted to search for Robin too, but I would've taken him back to the Tower first.

"It's fine, really." He stood up and leaned against the wall for support. "I tripped trying to get to that," he said as he pointed toward a yellow object at the bottom of some rocks.

I picked it up and recognized it as Robin's utility belt. I wouldn't allow myself to feel sadness or pain. Right now, I had to focus on the priorities at hand. I had to get Beast Boy to the Tower.

I put his arm over my shoulder and put the utility belt in his left hand. "Hold on to that," I ordered him. Hold on to _me_, really. I didn't tell him that part. It took me a while to fly us back to the Tower, mainly because I was still searching for Robin on the way back. When I landed at the door, I noticed that Beast Boy was staring at me. "What?"

"Why'd you fly? Why didn't you—"

"I thought you didn't like that." I looked ahead and opened the door. "Let's just get you inside."

Beast Boy sighed and sat down in a chair. "That didn't just happen. Tell me that didn't just happen."

I frowned. "It _did_ happen. We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it."

He rubbed his leg. Even though he had told me that it didn't hurt much anymore, I didn't think I could trust him to tell me the truth again. I reached down and put my hands on his leg. I focused my power and eased the pain out of his leg.

He smiled at me, revealing a small set of fangs. "Who knew we had a doctor in the house? Thanks."

"No problem," I said as the door opened. We turned and saw Cyborg and Starfire as they entered the room.

"Maybe y'all should call me Fly-borg," said Cyborg with a smile. "I was halfway to Gotham City before Star zapped that thing off my back. So what'd I miss? Tell me how we kicked their butts."

I looked to Beast Boy, but he didn't look like he knew how to answer either.

"Come on, I gotta have the play-by-play."

Starfire asked, "Where is Robin?"

Beast Boy scratched his head. "Star, we're not sure."

"Not sure? Why are you not—"

"We searched everywhere," I told her, "and all we found was this." I held out Robin's belt for her to see.

Starfire gasped.

Cyborg groaned and put his hands on top of his head. "I should've been there. I let that kid sneak up on me...What was I…It was a trap and I-I should've known."

"I do not understand," said Starfire as she took a step toward me. "How could you not find him? People do not just vanish! He has to be someplace, so go there and look!"

"Easy, Star," said Beast Boy as he stepped in front of me. "Come on, this is _Robin_ we're talking about. I'm sure he's fine. He'll probably turn up any second."

I have never been protected before. For anything. And he did it so naturally. If he keeps this up, it'll be harder to send him to his death.

A knock on our door silenced us all.

"Robin," cried Starfire. She flew to the door and was blown backwards almost immediately.

The Hive walked in slowly with smiles on their faces.

"Oh no," said Beast Boy.

The jester smiled. "Oh yes."

"You guys got lucky last time," said Cyborg. "But you're in _our_ house now!"

"Yeah, nice place," said the bald kid. "We'll take it."

"Split up," cried Cyborg.

Starfire and I flew up the stairs. I waited for her to catch up to me before I sent two fire hydrants down towards Mammoth. I didn't stop to see if it had hit him before I continued up the stairs.

We went to the combat room, and closed the door. For added measure, Starfire sealed the edges shut with her lasers so that the doors wouldn't break down. Even with the reinforced door, we still took a couple of steps away from it.

A crash sounded from behind us, making us turn around. Mammoth's head had broken through. "Hello, ladies," he said with a smile. The rest of his body came through the wall.

Before we could react, Mammoth grabbed us by our arms and threw us into the ceiling. We went through nine floors before we finally exited the Tower. We landed in the water that surrounded the island.

I looked up and saw purple wavelengths hit the water. Where they touched, a wave formed, which carried us all off to the shore of the beach on the other side of town. We managed to climb out—even Cyborg, who was missing the bottom portion of his right arm.

Beast Boy coughed and spit out water. "So, uh, who else never wants to go surfing again?"

"Not now, man," said Cyborg bitterly.

Beast Boy stood up. "Hey, I was just trying to—"

I silenced him as I placed my hand on his shoulder. I didn't give him a firm look, but it was obviously enough to keep him from saying anything else.

Cyborg used his finger to fix some of the circuits in his left leg.

Starfire approached him cautiously. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance."

"I got it."

"But you are so damaged and—"

"I got it," Cyborg yelled, abandoning his leg in the process.

"Hey!" Beast Boy said loudly. "She only wanted to help. What is your problem?"

"What do you_ think_? We got kicked out of our house, a pint-sized point Dexter took me for a joyride, and in case you haven't noticed, I just became left-handed!"

I put my hand on Beast Boy's shoulder again and frowned at Cyborg. "_Enough_! We need to control our emotions."

"Or what? Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating?"

Starfire turned away from us. "I wish Robin were here."

"Well, he's not! Don't you guys get it? They won, we lost. It's _over_!"

"Then," said Beast Boy, "the Teen Titans are finished?"

"Not yet," said a voice behind us. I didn't have to turn around to know that it would be Robin, but I did anyway just to confirm my theory. "Not if I can help it," he said with a smile.

Starfire was so excited, I thought Robin was going to die of suffocation if she didn't stop hugging him. Beast Boy and Cyborg clapped him on the shoulders. I stood off to the side and nodded at Robin in acknowledgement when he looked my way.

By the time Robin had finished explaining his plan, the sun had set, and the Hive had reformed the Tower in the shape of an "H".

"Cyborg," Robin said, "is there any way you can use your arm to set off the alarms?"

"As a matter of fact, I can." Cyborg's chest plate lifted and revealed a computer. After typing a few things into the keypad, Cyborg's red eye began to glow.

I pulled Beast Boy to the side for a moment. "Thank you."

"What for?" he asked me.

I reminded myself that I was speaking with an idiot. Had I needed an explanation when I healed his leg? "Thank you for standing up for me earlier."

"No problem," he said with a smile.

"What are they doing," Robin asked Cyborg.

"They're going through all our stuff!"

"Can you get to the computer?"

"I think I can." After a few moments, Cyborg smiled. "Got it! The alarm's been set!"

"Perfect. Raven, get us to their side of the Tower."

I nodded and did as he asked.

"You know what to do," said Robin.

Starfire disappeared into the Tower.

I closed my eyes and stretched my hand toward the ground. Black energy extended from my fingertips. It became an extension of myself as I now traveled through the ground and grabbed the jester with my giant hand. I pulled her up to our level and dropped her.

The bald kid came shooting out of the pipes, attached to Cyborg's arm. It dropped him on top of the jester and then flew back into place on Cyborg's body. From the elevator, Starfire pushed Mammoth out and joined us again. She handed Robin his utility belt.

"Sorry to interrupt the victory celebration," said Robin. "But like I said: this isn't over."

"It's just getting started," said Cyborg.

The jester smiled, unfazed. "Attack pattern Alpha." She thrust her hand forward, sending purple wavelengths. I leapt out of the way as the ground exploded underneath me.

The bald kid jumped onto Cyborg's back and said, "Hey, Robo-wimp. Feel like getting hacked?"

"Nope," said Cyborg. "How 'bout you?"

Robin threw a device onto the bald kid's pack, causing the kid to short-circuit and fall to the ground.

Starfire and I led the jester underneath a pile of metal columns. When she was far enough, we signaled Beast Boy. He morphed into a small monkey and leapt onto her face. In an attempt to get him off of her, she threw purple wavelengths around, striking the metal columns. Finally, she managed to get Beast Boy off of her.

He smiled. "Your luck just ran out."

The metal columns fell down around her.

Mammoth charged at me. I kept my head and flew over him, knowing that he would probably be dumb enough to just turn around and try to hit me again. Sure enough, he did.

Cyborg knocked him down with his shoulder. When Mammoth got up, Beast Boy morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and roared loudly—somehow Mammoth was frightened by him and tried to run away.

Starfire tripped him with a bolt of light, and Robin flung him into his friends.

The bald kid, unable to get out from underneath Mammoth, groaned and pulled out a communicator. "Cram it, I'm calling Slade."

Robin pulled the kid up and held him to his face. "Who is Slade?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, barf-brain?"

It was obvious that they weren't going to talk to us, so we left them with the authorities. When we returned home we were surprised at what we found. Especially me. The moment I set foot in my room, I knew that someone else had been inside.

Someone had gone through my closet and reorganized everything. They'd also taken all of my piles of books and placed them back on my bookshelves. How was I _ever_ supposed to remember what I had already read and what I still needed to read? I grabbed a pair of my cloaks and went out to express my frustration with the other Titans.

Beast Boy was going on about how his CDs had been alphabetized.

I held up my cloaks. "They went into my room. No one should _ever_ go into my room."

Starfire gasped, but not because of what I had said. Her head appeared from behind the refrigerator door. "Someone has disposed of all our blue, furry food!"

Cyborg lifted a corner of the sofa. "You gotta be kiddin' me! The whole place gets cleaned and I _still_ can't find the—"

Robin whistled and pointed at the coffee table. He picked up the remote and turned the TV on.

"I guess," said Cyborg as he sat down beside Robin, "we really oughta be trainin' for battles, trackin' down clues, and tryin' to figure out who Slade is, huh?"

"We will," Robin declared. "But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team."

Well he has "almost six months" to be a part of it.


	4. Chapter Three: Nevermore

In the weeks that followed we met many more villains. My personal favorite villain of this time period was Mumbo, a con-artist who has much to learn about _real_ magic. _Real_ magic comes at a price.

During these weeks, Cyborg left and then rejoined. The team was broken for a little while, and even I experienced some personal disappointment at Cyborg's disappearance. It was especially annoying to me that Cyborg only left because he and Robin got into an argument over something irrelevant.

This week was a turning point, though. This was the week that I lost control.

Dr. Light stood on top of an overturned bank truck. His hands, powered by his black and white suit, glowed a brilliant yellow light. "Your pathetic skills can't outshine the brilliance of Dr. Light!" He pointed his hands at us and shot out a beam of light.

We all managed to dodge it.

Dr. Light scowled. "Your fast, but I doubt you'll enjoy moving at the speed of light!" He opened his chest plate and aimed it at Robin, who was thrown into the building behind him.

Beast Boy, in wolf form, charged at the villain. Dr. Light sidestepped him and threw brightly colored balls at him. "A wolf is no threat when it's blind as a bat!" The balls exploded in Beast Boy's face, causing him to return to human form and rub his eyes furiously.

Starfire shot her lasers at Dr. Light, who hid behind a shield he'd created. He threw a device on the ground that imprisoned Starfire in a circle of energy.

"Watch yourself, Lightweight," said Cyborg as he picked up a the axel of the overturned truck. "Things are about to get heavy!" He slammed the object on the ground, but missed.

Dr. Light didn't. His next shot made the truck explode, covering Cyborg in a pile of dust. "Let me go," Cyborg roared, as if the villain would suddenly listen to him and do as he asked.

Dr. Light laughed. "Now if nobody minds, I'll be taking the gold."

"_I_ mind," I told him. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth—ahh!" I was knocked backwards as he shot me with a blast of light energy.

"Bit of advice: find shorter magic words."

I was thrown back once again by another blast of light energy. I could feel it. This time I wouldn't be able to hold in my anger. I tried to protect him. Really, I did. I even warned him as he came to me: "Don't come any closer."

"What's the matter? Afraid of the light?"

It was then that the plates of the earth shifted beneath me. Gravity reversed itself and ran uphill. I tasted lightning. I was falling, falling up into witchiness.

No one else could feel it, not Beast Boy, not Cyborg, not Starfire, not Robin, not even Dr. Light. Just me, Raven, first-class witch. I'd promised Mother not to kill. I'd promised her never again to give in to the darkness.

That promise meant nothing to me.

I turned around and felt myself grow before Dr. Light. From underneath my cloak came black tentacles, stretching out toward Dr. Light, inviting him in. When he didn't accept the invitation, they made him.

He disappeared in the darkness underneath me. I could feel him fighting it, struggling to hold on to the little bit of light that I allowed him to keep. The light that I was about to snuff out. I heard my voice, but it was not mine: "What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?"

"Raven! Stop," cried Robin.

"Raven," Beast Boy yelled.

Their voices reached me, touched me, _changed_ me. I gasped and felt myself fall back into human-ness. I shrunk back to the ground, revealing a frightened Dr. Light who was cowering on the ground. He _should_ cower. They _all_ should cower. That's what people do for witches, right? They cower before them.

Robin and Starfire went to comfort the man. Comforting the villain? I've definitely seen it all now.

Beast Boy came up to me. His presence alone angered me. "Dude," he said. "Raven, what did you do?"

A growl escaped my lips as I turned on him. He let out a scream and jumped back. I knew I had to leave. I had to leave before _he_ came. I walked into the dark alley and disappeared into the shadows.

Once home, I grabbed my mirror and lit a few candles. I needed to let go of my anger. Letting go of my anger would be the only way that I could return to normal. Well, it was the only way that I could return to my _former self_.

I meditated for hours, and it hadn't worked yet. Great. Now to add to my anger, I now had to let go of frustration. I left my room and decided to ease my mind with my herbal tea.

I regretted leaving my room the moment I entered the kitchen. Cyborg was upset because Beast Boy had served him a meal fit for a vegetarian—I wouldn't have expected anything less from Beast Boy.

"Hey, Raven," said Robin. "Want breakfast?"

"It's good," Beast Boy chimed. "Wakey-wakey tofu eggs and bakey."

"Herbal tea," I told him after pouring it. His presence still annoyed me.

"Come on, just one little taste. You could use some food after the way you cooked Dr. Light."

"_No_!" I shouldn't get angry. Beast Boy's eggs exploded in his face, and the cup for my tea broke in my hands. Honestly, he should be grateful that I didn't do anything worse to him. Maybe the meditation _did_ work a little bit.

I started to go back to my room, but decided to go and watch the horizon on the rooftop. It was always easier for me to calm down when I looked at something so peaceful. Sure enough, it didn't take long for me to slip into the trance that I needed to get rid of my anger.

Getting rid of my anger is a difficult process. First, I have to go through the emotions I'd felt leading up to anger, and then I must personally confront it and successfully defeat it in order to lock it away again.

My first emotion: happiness.

I had been attempting to read my book in the living room early that morning, when Beast Boy had shown up. He then took my book away from my hands and tried to read it. I knew that he would not succeed—how could he when they weren't in his language?

When he had finally given up trying to read the book, he closed it and asked me to play video games with him. I had refused, simply because I was near the end of my book. I would love to play video games one day, but not in front of the others. After my refusal, Beast Boy, of course, had not lost his smile. Instead, he had gone on to ask me to tell him something about me—specifically, he had asked to know why I always kept to myself.

Oh, how I had longed to tell him! But I hadn't. Instead, I took my book from him and then went off down the hall to my room. I could barely keep the swelling emotion of my wicked heart from bursting. Despite the fact that I had shot him down, he had wanted to get to know _me_. It was a terrible choice, but he had chosen _me_.

I traveled deep into my mind, hoping to reach the world my mirror offered for my emotions. Slowly, I became her. The girl who enjoyed life, who didn't understand what bad times were like; the girl who was always happy.

She came upon the sight of Cyborg and Beast Boy hanging upside down. It's only fitting that she sees them because she'd been happy around Beast Boy, and Beast Boy was always with Cyborg. "Hey, guys!" she said. "What's up?"

"I don't know anymore," said Cyborg with a small whimper. He and Beast Boy fell to the ground at her feet.

She laughed, loudly. It was a beautiful laugh, as clear as a bell. Much as it should be—she's _used_ to laughing.

"Raven?" said Beast Boy as he stood up. "How did—Where are—What just—Why are you wearing _pink_?"

She laughed again. This was the girl Beast Boy would appreciate—she would _always_ laugh at his jokes. The jokes that I usually turned aside. " 'Cause it's my favorite color!"

"It is?"

"Look," said Cyborg. "I'd love to talk fashion, but I don't suppose _you_ know how to get home?" He was talking to her, of course.

She shrugged. "The forbidden door. It's the only way out. But you don't wanna go there." She chuckled. "Not now."

They looked at each other and then they looked at her. "Yeah, we do," they said together.

She shrugged again. " 'Kay! But don't say I didn't warn ya." She was so happy as she walked that she felt like flying. But not like the way she usually flew—no, she felt like _soaring_ like an airplane. She stretched her arms out to their full extent and ran around as she imitated the sound they made.

She didn't care what they thought about her. All she knew was that she was happy, and she needed to show it. She disappeared into the arc of the forbidden door and entered the bright land behind it. Pink trees, pink grass, and pink strawberries surrounded her. She looked back and realized that she had left her friends at the entrance.

"Now where are we," Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy watched a strawberry float by him. "I think this might be where air fresheners come from."

She laughed, startling them. "Good one!"

"_You're_ laughing," said Cyborg.

"At one of _my_ jokes," Beast Boy asked.

She smiled, a little confused at why they would ask her such a question. "Sure. I've always thought you were funny, BB. Don't you remember?" Her smile widened. "But hey, looks aren't everything!" She laughed again.

Idiot. Who would tell him that? Now he'll think she's attracted to him. Which, she is.

I was brought back to reality when Robin said, "Raven? Are you alright? We stopped by your room, and the door's been knocked down."

I came back too fast. I always need to ease out. If I don't ease out of my trance, I can end up bringing some of my emotions back out. I laughed, loudly. My laugh was beautiful, as clear as bells.

I clamped my hands over my mouth and turned away from a startled Robin and Starfire. "Need to be alone," I told them. I went back to my room and found the door on the ground. I put it back in its place and continued inside.

On the floor, beside my desk, I found my mirror, which was _not_ in the place where I had left it. It made sense now—why Happy Raven had seen Beast Boy and Cyborg. They weren't part of her imagination. They were actually _inside_!

"No," I whispered as I grabbed the mirror by its handle. I quickly calmed down and set the mirror on my bed. Two candles and a couple of chants later, I found myself traveling inside the mirror world.

I was immediately forced to go through my next emotion: tentativeness.

I had felt bad for not telling Beast Boy the answer to his question. I should've answered him. Why hadn't I answered? I knew why. It was because I knew that he wouldn't like his answer. He wouldn't have liked to hear about the dark things that go on in my mind. It would have angered him if he'd known what I am really here for.

He was angry when she showed up. "Where were you?" he screamed at her. "Shopping for robes?"

She knew he would be angry when she showed up. He's always angry at her. Always frustrated at something that she's done. She could never make up for it, because she'd just do something else to make him angry again. The thought of him being angry brought visible tears to her eyes.

She's weak. I might be a wicked girl who'd think nothing of eating a baby for breakfast, but I'd never allow myself to cry in front of others. It's far too public.

"Easy," said Beast Boy as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean it. Please don't—"

"Hey," said Cyborg. "That's that forbidden door, right, Raven?"

She nodded and wiped away her tears on her gray robe.

"Come on, y'all," cried Cyborg as he raced forward. "We're almost—" He was stopped by a block of cement as it rose from the ground.

More blocks rose up until they created a maze. Beast Boy turned into a bird and tried to fly up, but he was electrocuted before he could see over the tops of the blocks. Cyborg tried to blast through the walls, but he wasn't strong enough.

"It's a maze," she told them in a quiet voice. "You can't get _out_; you have to go _through_. I can show you the way, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore." She glanced back at Beast Boy. "He already doesn't like me."

"Come on," he said. "That's not—"

She walked away before he could say anything else. She didn't want to cry in front of him again, in case he got angry. But what if he was angry because of things she'd already done to him?

She spent the whole time apologizing for all the things I'd done to them. "And remember the time I called you both 'immature pinheads'? I'm sorry for that, too. And also, the—"

"For the hundredth, millionth time…" said Beast Boy. "We forgive you!"

She turned away from them and touched the wall in front of her. It sunk back into the ground and revealed two stone statues. "That's the end," she said quietly.

"Sweet," cried Beast Boy.

Cyborg smiled. "Alright, Raven!"

Suddenly the two stone statues merged together, and two swords formed within their hands.

She took a step back. "_Told_ you that you wouldn't like me when we got here."

I quickly passed through my next emotion, the last one before anger: bravery.

When we had gotten the call that Dr. Light was rampaging through town, I had been quick to respond to it. And then, once facing Dr. Light, I had been determined to stop him so that the villain would not get away.

When she came down, the statue was already in the middle of a fight with Cyborg and Beast Boy. Cyborg was furiously blasting the statue, which wasn't affected, and Beast Boy was caught in one of the hands.

"Yo," she cried as she dropped from the sky, foot extended. "Hi-ya!" She brought the statue to the ground. "Whoo-hoo! In your faces!" She charged forward and dodged its swords. She leapt up and brought two fingers from its top all the way to its bottom.

The statue fell apart, defeated.

"Hoo-ah!" she cried with a fist pump. She stretched her hands out from underneath her dark green cloak. "High-fives! Come on!"

Beast Boy shook his head. "What is your _deal_? First you nuke breakfast, then finally laugh at my jokes, then you're all weepy, and now you're a marine? Make up your mind! Who are you?"

Happy Raven and Timid Raven appeared beside Brave Raven. They said together, "I'm Raven."

Cyborg scratched his head. "Happy, timid, brave…"

Happy Raven went over to Beast Boy and pointed at him. "You forgot Dopey." She laughed.

"Different sides of Raven's personality," said Cyborg. "We're not in Raven's home."

Beast Boy said, "We're in her head."

Finally! Now that I was done going through my emotions, I was free to travel as myself in this world. "And I want you _out_," I told them as I dropped down. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed my emotional selves. "The mirror you found was for meditation. It's a portal into my _mind_, _not a toy_!"

Beast Boy chuckled. "My bad."

The black birds around us let out a cry of panic and flew into the air. I know that warning. It means _he's_ coming. I've reached my final emotion: anger.

"You have to go," I told them. "_Now_."

"Hold up," said Cyborg. "What's going on here?"

"Last night, something…got loose. Something _bad_."

"Oh, no you don't," said Beast Boy as he spun me around by my shoulder. "I've _had_ it with this mystery girl routine. I wanna know _exactly_ what we're talking about here."

If he hadn't touched me like that, he probably wouldn't have gotten his answer. But he did, and _he_ came.

A loud roar echoed from the bottoms of the rocks before us. A cloud of darkness arose until it was lost in the clouds above us. From the darkness came a giant red beast with four yellow eyes and two white horns protruding from his head.

"Hatred shall rule," he declared in a low voice.

I took a couple of steps back. "Let's just say I have issues with my father." _That_ was the understatement of the century.

Beast Boy and Cyborg turned around and began to race toward the forbidden door—our exit.

The monster shot yellow beams at my feet, blasting me into the air. I recovered and looked down as my friends were thrown back by another blast. I hurried to the ground and spread my hands out in front of me. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

A shield of black energy formed around us, covering the entrance to the forbidden door. The beast attempted to break through my shield. It almost succeeded—it was surprisingly strong for such a small time that it had been out.

"Get out of my mind," I told them through gritted teeth as I struggled against the monster. "_Now_!"

"And leave you alone with _that_," Beast Boy asked.

Cyborg shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

"It's _my_ problem, _I'll_ deal with it. If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever." Well, not forever, but it would take me a while to rejuvenate. I doubt they'd want to be stuck here with that monster while I'm unconscious, though. I don't want them to be alone with that.

The beats let out a ferocious growl and threw a large ball of light at my shield. I was unprepared for its strength, and the second one devoured my energy. As the dust settled, I crossed my arms in front of my face to protect it.

In that moment, I realized that I could not spend any more time arguing with these two about getting them to safety. It was _my_ mind, _I_ was in control of them. I stretched out my hand and pushed them towards the forbidden door. "Go!"

The beast growled at me, inviting me to fight him.

I did. I flew up and shot the beast with energy blasts. He swiped at me with his hands, but I managed to dodge him. He turned around suddenly and hit me with a blast of energy from his eyes.

I'm not sure what happened after that. I know that I was falling, but I'm not sure how I go to that point. I know that when I awoke, I was being carried through the air by Beast Boy in the form of a bird. He set me down on the ground and morphed back into his human form.

"You stayed," I asked him. Why would he stay? What reason did he have to stay? "I thought you didn't like me."

He smiled at me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I thought you didn't like _me_."

I can't blame him for thinking that. I haven't shown him the best of me lately. Still, I have saved him multiple times over our adventures.

"Yo," said Cyborg. "I like both of you. Now get your butts over here!"

The beast rose form the platform below us and shot beams of light from his eyes. "Feel my fury!" As the dust settled from the blasts, we took cover behind it and used it to hide behind some of the rocks.

"He's too strong," I told them, ashamed of my failure. I knew that my face was probably turning red. It is not a blush, though. Witches can't blush. "Even with your help, I cannot defeat him."

"So call for backup," Cyborg exclaimed. "What about all those other yous?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy cried, "the green one kinda kicked butt!"

I shook my head. "It still wouldn't be enough. None of my other sides have the kind of power we need."

"Not alone, maybe, but _together_. They're all a part of who you are, right?"

That wasn't too terrible of an idea. It might work, actually. We ducked down as some rocks tumbled onto our heads from another blast.

"Go for it," said Cyborg. "We got your back." He and Beast Boy ran off to distract the beast.

I closed my eyes and focused on every feeling I had ever known. After passing through my emotions today, I now had the power to call on any emotion I wanted. My emotions hurried to meet me—all seven of them. That's quite a lot of emotions for me to feel. Especially since I'm not supposed to.

No words needed to be said among any of us. They circled around me as we flew into the air. Together, we chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

I felt them merge into me. We became one. I was overwhelmed with my emotions. I had never felt so much at one time before. It wasn't a bad feeling. I felt _stronger_, more powerful. I knew that with these emotions, I would be able to overcome my greatest challenge: my anger.

We stood in front of the beast and raised our hands above our head. Black energy spread from the tips of our fingers and bound the beast's arms to his sides. "You are going back where you belong," we told him. Together, we created a deep and powerful voice that would've sent him to his knees in fear if he hadn't been created with my anger.

"Never," he replied in a voice that held just as much power. He broke through the restraint and emitted a bright yellow blast from his hands.

We met that power with the combined force of our own energy. The two forces collided, and it became a battle to see whose willpower would win in the end. I used my emotions to strengthen me; I thought of my friends; I thought of Beast Boy.

I overpowered the beast.

He morphed back into the girl who could not control her anger. The girl who gave in and hurt the people she cared about around her. The girl who used to control me. She glared at me from underneath her blood red hood and nodded in submission. She disappeared into red smoke that traveled into my pendant.

The anger that entered my body was too much for me to handle. I let go of all my emotions, forcing them back into the places that I would keep them in when I entered reality again.

The process was so tiring that my legs gave out underneath me when I tried to stand. I fell backward, into Beast Boy's and Cyborg's arms.

Cyborg smiled. "We got you."

"It's okay," Beast Boy told me gently.

"Thank you…friends," I said quietly. I looked toward Beast Boy for confirmation, but it seemed like he was looking for me to confirm.

"So…we really _are_ friends?"

I smiled and nodded.

He raised an eyebrow and nudged my arm. "And you really think I'm funny?"

My smile disappeared and turned into a frown. "Don't push it," I warned him. Truthfully, I'm not sure if he would've been able to push it any further than that. It all depended on the answer I was willing to give him. "Come on."

I led them through the forbidden door—I'm not sure why I refer to it as "forbidden". It might be because in Azarath, I was forbidden to go through most doorways. We came through my mirror.

I turned and looked at both of them. "So which one of you knocked down my door?"

Beast Boy pointed at Cyborg, who in turn, pointed back at him. I figured that neither one of them would own up to doing such a task. Instead of getting angry, though, I smiled and forgot about the situation.

Outside the door, we heard Starfire say, "Please, let us simply—"

"Raven asked us not to disturb her," Robin replied in a strained voice. I imagined he was trying to keep her from knocking on my door. I appreciated that. I didn't need it to fall down again.

"But she could be weeping and—"

"I don't wanna bother her!"

"But if we merely—"

I opened the door, and watched as Starfire pulled her hand back to her side. Robin fell to the floor, but when he saw us, he stood up and said, "Where have you guys _been_?"

"Just getting to know each other," said Cyborg with a smile.

"Come, friends," Starfire exclaimed with her arms spread to their full length, "we shall prepare a new breakfast feast."

I don't know how long we'd been inside my head, but I was pretty sure that the sun had long since gone down.

Beast Boy frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a little late for breakfast, Star. Maybe just some herbal tea."

I looked at him and smiled. I had never expected him to make an effort to appease my interests. The only reasonable thing to do would be to make an effort for him as well. "Actually, breakfast sounds…nice."

He smiled at me. I swear I even saw the faintest hint of a twinkle in his eyes. "Breakfast for dinner, coming up!" He raced off toward the kitchen.

Cyborg hurried after him. "Oh, no," he cried. "_I'm_ cookin' this time! We're havin' _real_ eggs!"

Breakfast for dinner was nice. I tried some of Beast Boy's tofu eggs, and he tried some of my herbal tea. He didn't like it, but I didn't particularly care for his eggs either, so it was okay. Starfire eagerly chatted on and on about some of the traditions of her hometown. I couldn't keep up with all of them, but I did my best to understand a few. Robin is probably the only one of us who can _really_ keep up with her. Cyborg enjoyed his eggs and talked a lot with his mouth open. It's not as annoying as it sounds, because he hardly drops any food. The task of understanding him while he talks with food in his mouth, however, is much more draining.

After dinner, I decided to clean the dishes. After our incident with the Hive, we've been trying to keep the Tower cleaner. I think a clean Tower means that we're more organized, which is good for a team, I suppose.

"Let me help you," Beast Boy said as he placed his dishes into the sink beside me. He took half of the pile and began to wash them.

"Thank you," I replied, surprised that he had joined me.

He smiled and after a while, he said, "I learned a lot about you today."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he had. Anyone would've learned more about me after being inside my head for a couple of hours. I decided to indulge him anyway. "Did you now?"

His smile widened further. "You _do_ feel things. You care and you love, sometimes you're brave, and sometimes you're scared; and sometimes, you're brave even when you're scared. You're just like the rest of us. You just never let anyone know."

"Have you figured out why yet?" I wouldn't describe myself as being just like the rest of them, but if that's what he wants to believe, I'll let him. Who am I to spoil his imagination?

Beast Boy shook his head. "Not yet, but I'm gonna figure it out."

I finished my pile and retreated back to my room. Beast Boy would probably think that I didn't care much about him probing into my life again. But he would be wrong if he did think that.

I _do_ care.

And I was happy.


	5. Chapter Four: Switched

Despite being the only two girls on the team, Starfire and I are not the best of friends. That's not to say that we hate each other. We just don't get along that easily.

I was in the middle of my meditation when I heard her voice calling my name. It was exceptionally annoying, because I had just reached a state of peace.

The peace was gone now.

"Raven? Raven?" she called. "Please forgive my interruption, but have you seen Robin?"

_That's_ what she called me for? To ask me if I'd seen _Robin_? "No."

"Oh. Perhaps you have seen Cyborg?"

"No."

"Beast Boy?"

I gave her the most logical explanation that I could spit out in a reasonable way. "My eyes are _closed_, Starfire; I haven't _seen_ _anyone_." Next time I'll stick to doing my meditation in my room. In retrospect, meditating in the living room might've been a bad idea.

"They must be doing the 'hanging out' someplace."

I'm starting to see why they may have left her. She has _yet_ to see that now is the time to leave me alone.

"Perhaps _we_ should do the hanging out," she suggested suddenly. "We never have before, and, conceivably, it could be fun. We might journey to the mall of shopping, or perform braiding maneuvers upon each other's hair…"

A part of my anger slipped out. It encased my body in black flames, symbolizing the annoyance I felt toward her at that moment. I sensed that she finally understood what I was feeling.

"You…wish to be alone?"

"How could you tell?" I listened to the sound of her footsteps receding while I resumed my meditation. To get back to my state of tranquility, I had to chant my forbidden words: "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth—"

"Mail call," cried Cyborg as he and the other boys returned.

I fell to the ground with a yelp of surprise.

Starfire wasted no time returning to them. "Robin! Cyborg! Beast Boy! You're back! It was…quiet while you were gone."

I dusted myself off as I stood up. "Not that quiet," I muttered.

Cyborg set a box down on the counter of the kitchen.

"Check it out," said Beast Boy as he pulled me over to the box. "This was sittin' by the front door. Fan mail!" He raised his eyebrow at me. "Probably a gift from one of my many admirers."

I rolled my eyes, but I was actually intrigued to see if a fan actually _had_ sent him something. Not that it really mattered to me, of course, whether or not he got something.

Robin frowned at the label on the box. "Actually, it doesn't say who it's from."

Cyborg cracked the box open. "Well, one way to find out." He peered inside. "Whoa!"

"Cool," said Robin.

Starfire giggled.

Beast Boy seemed a little disappointed. "Honestly, I was kinda hopin' for chocolate."

I didn't picture him as a chocolate eater. He probably didn't picture me as one either, though.

Cyborg held up a puppet version of him. "Aw, isn't that cute? Puppet Cy has a light up eye."

Robin pulled at a gadget on Puppet Robin's utility belt. "Yeah, they got all the details just right!"

"Speak for yourself," Beast Boy exclaimed. "I'm _way_ better lookin' than _this_—and taller."

I had to admit, he was right. Mine, however, seemed to be right on target. It was eerie, even for me. "Someone certainly has a _lot_ of time on their hands." I took off the hood of Puppet Raven and found her short blue hair and red forehead chakra.

Starfire giggled again. "I have never seen such a whimsical device." She moved her puppet in the air. "Hello, Starfire," she said in an imitation of what the puppet would probably sound like. She smiled at it and shook its puppet hand. "Hello, tiny wooden replica of Starfire."

Beast Boy moved his puppet so that it kicked Puppet Robin in his butt. "Dude," he said to Robin, "my puppet is _totally_ kickin' _your_ puppet's butt!"

Robin frowned. "Not for long," he declared.

Puppet Robin pushed Puppet Beast Boy into Puppet Cyborg, who turned around and shook his puppet fist, while saying, "You want a piece of me, little man?"

The three puppets engaged in a battle against each other. I had only one word to describe such immaturity: "Boys."

Starfire and her puppet came to meet me and mine. "Shall my tiny replica do battle with your tiny replica?"

I saw no reason as to why they couldn't. I, however, would not be joining this fight. Besides, my puppet would win, anyway. I tossed my puppet at Starfire and said, "Knock yourself out." I then ducked underneath the boys and their puppets so that I could go to my room and finish my meditation.

After getting my herbal tea for the night, I picked up my puppet from the couch and brought her back to my room. I thought about getting her some herbal tea as well—seeing as she _is_ me—but decided against it.

We fell asleep on my bed together. It wasn't long before I was awoken by the sound of Starfire traveling through the halls.

"Hello? Is someone there?" she asked.

I didn't hear any other noises, so I wondered who she could be talking to. She already knew that she lived in the Tower with four other people; the likelihood of "someone" being there was very high.

"If this is a joke, it is not—"

I opened the door. I must've surprised her, because she started to scream. Her scream sent chills down my back. It was on the eerie pitch of B-flat—I know from my many music lessons as a child.

She recognized me and sighed in relief. "Raven. You have also heard the strange noises?"

"The strange noises of you talking outside my door? Hard to miss."

"Oh. Forgive me, I thought there was someone—"

We jumped back as a blast of electric currents darted between us. We looked up just in time to see Robin leap through the air, leg forward. Starfire avoided him and floated into the air.

I extended my hand and created a shield as Beast Boy, in the form of a velociraptor, charged at me. Confusion swarmed my head. Why would he attack me like that? "Beast Boy, it's _me_!" I cried, hoping he would stop. "Don't make me hurt you!"

He broke through my shield and snapped at my fingers. With a roar, he spun around, bringing his tail with him.

I was thrown backwards into Cyborg, who was holding Starfire with his other arm. "Let me go," I demanded.

"Friends," said Starfire, "why do you attack us?"

"Oh, they're not _your_ friends anymore," said a voice in the darkness. A puppet that barely came up to Beast Boy's shoulder walked up to us. "They're my _puppets_." He held up the puppets of Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. "_These_ are your friends."

"Star…fire," said Puppet Robin.

"Ra…ven," Puppet Cyborg mumbled.

Puppet Beast Boy could barely lift his head. "Help!"

"Release them," I ordered the tiny puppet master.

"Sorry," he replied, "but _you're_ not in charge here. You don't command me; _I_ command_ you_." He held up a puppet controller that had lights on the ends of it. Beast Boy and Robin held up the puppet versions of me and Starfire.

I could feel my energy being drained. I realized that soon Starfire and I would become the puppets of this man if I didn't so something to stop it. I tried to hold my own against his power, but it was proving to be too much.

"And with the Puppet King pulling the strings," said the puppet master, "the Teen Titans will command the entire city."

"Azarath." My strength was fading me. "Metrion." I was losing consciousness. "Zinthos…" I faded away into darkness.

It must've worked, because when I awoke, the Puppet King and the boys were on the ground. I grabbed Starfire by the arm and led her down the hallway.

"After them," the Puppet King ordered.

I led Starfire to the secret basement at the end of the hall and waited in silence as the boys passed over us.

"The boys," Starfire hissed. "Raven, what are we going to—"

I turned on the light and turned to face her—I mean me. I was looking at myself. I took a second look just to be sure. It'd been a while since I'd looked in the mirror, but I was pretty sure that the girl in front of me with pale skin, blue hair, and dark clothes wasn't me at that moment. "Starfire?" I asked for confirmation.

"Raven?" she said with my face. She gasped. "You are me!" She gasped again. "And I am you!" A black line of energy traveled from her forehead and encased the light bulb, making it explode.

Footsteps passed over us. "I don't know what happened," I told her, "but we need to get out of the Tower." I led her through the tunnels until we were underneath the streets of the city.

A rat crawled by her foot, making Starfire scream. The manhole above us burst out of its place and landed on the street. We crawled out of the opening so that I could silence the clatter.

"Oh, Raven," Starfire said. She picked up the ends of my cloak and frowned at them. "This is awful! Terribly, horribly, awful!"

I never realized how short I was compared to Starfire. I grabbed her by my cloak and led her through the streets. "Tell me about it."

"Very well. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy have been trapped inside tiny wooden bodies, while a nasty creature called the Puppet King has taken control of their real bodies which he is using to hunt us down and you and I are in the wrong bodies and—"

I grabbed her shoulder as another mailbox melted. "Starfire, you _have_ to calm down." My powers had left a mess up the entire street. "My powers are driven by emotion—the more you feel the more energy you unleash."

"But what if they find us? What if our friends are doomed? What if I am stuck looking like this forever?'

"We'll fix it; I don't know how, but we will rescue the boys and we will get our bodies back." I frowned as the last part of her sentence dawned on me. I imagined her beautiful face was contorting into one of my dreaded frowns. "What's wrong with the way I look?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. A streetlight exploded.

I gave her a look that said everything I needed to say.

"I will try to calm down," she promised as she took a deep breath. "Peace. Quiet. Tranquil—"She screamed as a car was blast into the air as a result of my powers.

"We are so doomed," I muttered.

Our attention was drawn to the sound of a green bird as it cried out in the night.

"Beast Boy," said Starfire as she pointed at him.

Great. If there was any chance that he hadn't seen us, he was sure to now.

Beast Boy dove down at us with his talons extended.

"_Zombie_ Beast Boy," I noted. I grabbed Starfire's arm and led her through an alley. "Run!" As we ran, I tried to fly. It didn't work. I stumbled on the ground, but got up to keep running. "Fly! _Fly_!"

Finally, we lost Beast Boy.

"We cannot fight them again," said Starfire. "I do not wish to. And in our present condition, we would surely be defeated."

"Okay. How do you fly this thing?" I adjusted her shirt as if that may be part of the problem.

"You must _feel_ flight."

I've heard some crazy stuff in my lifetime, but that was ridiculous. _Feel_ flight? "What?"

"When you _feel_ the unbridled joy of flight, you will fly."

"Unbridled joy," I repeated. We came to a stop. "Not really my thing." Great. Of course the person I switch powers with is the one person who _needs_ emotions to use hers. I was thrown onto the ground as Starfire pointed at something further down in surprise.

"Look!" she cried.

Beast Boy in the form of a tiger ran down the alley at us.

I stood up. "What do I have to feel to use star bolts?"

"Righteous fury."

Next. "Your alien strength?"

"Boundless confidence."

Yeah, right. "Never mind."

Zombie Beast Boy chased us into an alley that was being guarded by Zombie Robin. Zombie Robin lunged at us with his metallic staff. Starfire and I broke apart; Zombie Robin ended up hitting Zombie Beast Boy instead of us.

We dashed away and hid behind a corner. From behind us, Zombie Cyborg's hands burst through the wall.

Starfire screamed, sending me into the air again. She picked me up off of the ground and led us into another alley. This one was a dead end.

We turned around, but only to find the boys guarding our exit.

I faced Starfire and said, "If I can't fly, then you have to levitate. You know those words I always—"

"Yes!" she cried excitedly.

"Wait, you have to focus!"

"Azarath, Metrion Zinthos," she yelled happily.

I grabbed onto her just before we were both thrown into the air, out of the alley. She was flying _way_ too fast. We zoomed through the city for a while before she finally looked down on me and said, "I wish to stop! Please tell me the way to stop!"

"Look at the ground and imagine—"

She did exactly as I said. We started to fall.

"Wait!"

She didn't.

We fell into the trash bags below. Not exactly a soft landing, but it was probably better than landing on the street.

"I smell like the breath of a Snorvian florkworm."

I pushed a few of the bags to the side to cover us.

"Raven, what are you—"

I held my finger to her lips—my lips, really—and shushed her before ducking down. Zombie Cyborg and Robin passed by us on patrol.

Starfire held her hands together above her head and chanted, "Peace. Quiet. Tranquility. Peace. Quiet. Tranquility."

I enjoyed seeing her make an effort to _not_ blast me into the air again. "It's alright," I told her. "They're going." I couldn't help but wonder where Zombie Beast Boy was.

I shouldn't have wondered. Through a hole in the trash bags, we saw the green glow of Beast Boy in his rat form. I covered Starfire's—my—mouth and held her to the wall to silence her.

"Enough," cried the Puppet King suddenly, drawing the rat away from us. "We will catch the other two after the ceremony is complete." He held up the puppet versions of our friends to his face.

"Ceremony," Puppet Robin repeated.

Puppet Cyborg said, "What ceremony?"

"Just a little spell," the Puppet King replied, "that will destroy you three and make your bodies mine forever." He looked up at the Zombies. "Come, my puppets." They followed him out of the street.

We stood up and left our sanctuary of garbage.

I frowned as my hand became tangled in her sea of red hair. "How can you stand having this much hair," I asked her.

Starfire grabbed my hand. "Our friends are in danger. We must follow and—"

"And what?" I demanded as I wrenched my hand out of hers. "Save them with my unusable powers while your unbridled emotions blow us to bits? Nice flying, by the way."

Black flames encased her body. I was surprised to see so much response from her. "At least I am _able_ to fly. On my planet, even a _newborn_ can unleash the joy of flight! But you are too busy being grumpy and rude to feel anything at _all_!"

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but _my_ emotions are dangerous. I _can't afford_ to feel _anything_." I turned away from her. "You may have my body, but you know _nothing_ about _me_."

"Perhaps you are right," she said quietly. "And if you and I are to overcome this ordeal, we must know everything about each other. So begin sharing."

A smile crept onto my face. "Alright," I told her. We sat down in the alley, where I told her everything that I could. I didn't mention my father or my mission at all. I told her of my mother, Arella; I told her about how three years ago I learned that I was a witch; but I mostly told her about Azarath, the place I came from.

On our way to the warehouse that the Puppet King resided in, Starfire told me about her time spent here. She had good memories from her hometown, but she _really_ liked the ones she'd made on Earth. I noticed a lot of her good memories actually came from time spent with Robin, or time spent with me.

By the time we got to the warehouse, we had learned everything that we could learn about each other—everything except my curse. Zombie Beast Boy was guarding the entrance in the form of a greyhound.

"Safe to say we're not walking in through the front door," I told her. "We'll have to try the roof."

"Agreed," said Starfire as she took my hand in hers. "Now, do just as I instructed. Close your eyes and think of something joyful."

I doubted anything would come to mind, but I did as she said anyway. I closed my eyes and pictured a time when I was happy.

For some reason, I was reminded of the time when Beast Boy had thanked me after I had healed him. The memory morphed to the time when he had stood up for me against Starfire. I was then reminded of the time when he had willingly tried my tea because of the bonding experience we'd had before then.

Starfire said, "You might choose flowers, or kittens, or the laughter of children, or—"

I was lifted into the air, dragging Starfire along with me. It wasn't hard to use her powers to fly. We even made it around Zombie Beast Boy without being detected.

When we landed on the roof, Starfire hugged me. "Very, _very_ good! What was your joyful thought?"

The memory of my flight made me blush—and on her cheeks, they would show. I decided not to tell her what I'd really been thinking and said, "You don't wanna know."

"Oh, but I do. Please tell me: what did you imagine?"

"You not talking," I said slowly. The lie didn't even sound genuine. I could've come up with something better.

"Oh. Well, I am glad I was able to help," she told me.

I changed the subject as I pointed at a padlock on a door that would lead into the warehouse. "Your turn. Find your center; focus your energy on the lock."

She nodded and closed her eyes. When they reopened, her pupils were gone, and white sparks had replaced them. Black energy covered her hands and the padlock. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." The padlock broke in two.

"Nice work," I told her, in an effort not to be stunned at the sight of myself using my powers. I now understood how I could be looked at as "creepy".

"Success," she cried as she jumped into the air, forcing the doors open with a crashing sound.

"Nice work," I said in a more depressing tone. We flew inside and looked around for the Puppet King. We found him hovering over a bonfire with the puppet versions of our friends at his side.

"Search and destroy," he said as he pointed his controller at the Zombie versions of our friends. "I do _not_ want an audience."

The Zombies left him.

"Well, Titans, time for your grand finale." He poured a blue potion into the fire, making it burn brighter and higher.

"No," I whispered.

He grabbed the puppets of our friends and held them over the fire as it simmered down. "It's going to be a real showstopper. Don't worry—I'll take good care of your bodies. After all, they'll be mine forever."

Starfire stretched her hands out toward the boys as they were released and encased them in a black ball of energy. She lifted up to us and hugged them to her chest. "My friends!" she cried. "You are unharmed!"

Puppet Robin lifted his head. "Star…fire?"

"It's a long story," I said quickly.

The Puppet King frowned and used his controller to call back his Zombies. "Go, my puppets! After them!"

"Move," I told Starfire as I pulled her along. We were stopped by Zombie Beast Boy in the form of a bat, and blocked by Zombie Robin behind us. Zombie Cyborg dropped onto the railing beside us and aimed his cannon at us.

As we blasted into the air, Starfire dropped our friends onto the ground. We managed to regain control of ourselves and levitated above them.

Zombie Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla and tackled me to the ground. I twisted out of his grasp and backed away from him as he and Zombie Cyborg closed in on me. "Okay, Raven," I told myself, "star bolts. Just let go of your emotions. Feel the righteous fury and—"

I was forced to duck as Zombie Cyborg threw a punch my way. His fist landed in the wall behind me. I leapt over Zombie Beast Boy, but was thrown into the air as his large fists slammed into the ground.

I caught sight of his eyes—they were blue, not green now—and remembered my memory of flight. I didn't want to hurt him, but I knew that I had no choice. I flew up and punched him in the jaw, sending him backwards.

Zombie Cyborg leapt onto a rope and swung around until he was heading my way again. I jumped up and landed a kick in a face, sending him towards the ground.

I was mortified when I realized that he was going to fall on top of my friends.

Starfire caught Zombie Cyborg and lifted back up into the air. I watched with pride as she swung him into Zombie Robin, who was about to attack her.

An animal roar alerted me of Zombie Beast Boy as he dropped onto my level. I dodged his attack and took a step away from him.

"Righteous fury," I ordered. "Righteous fury. Concentrate…" A green light began to emit from my hands, but it fizzled out as I was forced to dodge another one of Zombie Beast Boy's attacks. I tried to fly, but he caught me by my ankle and slammed me into the ground.

Starfire screamed, "Raven, help!"

Zombie Beast Boy grabbed me by my face and lifted me into the air. I returned by kicking him in his.

"Starfire," I cried. I flew toward her with incredible speed and slammed into Zombie Robin. I grabbed him by his cloak and dangled him in the air.

"Not me—_them_!"

My attention was drawn to the bonfire, where the Puppet King was holding my friends.

"The Puppet King is in command," he cried.

I was filled with so much anger that I could've spit twice. With my free hand, I thrust a star bolt forward to the ground in front of the Puppet King. "_No_!"

The ground exploded before him, causing him to release my friends. His controller was thrown into the air and landed in the bonfire. "My control," he cried. "No!" His eyes and mouth began to glow.

Lights filled the air as our spirits returned to our original bodies.

I floated down to the ground, happy to have short hair and dark clothes again.

Starfire twirled around in front of Robin. "I am me! And you are you!'

Cyborg and Beast Boy emerged from the shadows. Cyborg smiled. "And we're us!"

"Thanks to you two," said Robin.

Beast Boy thrust his fist in the air. "You go, girls!"

Starfire hugged me. "Raven, we have done it!"

"You're hugging me," I said, hoping that she would stop.

"No," cried the Puppet King. "The magic! Without it, I'm just a…" He dropped the floor, lifeless.

We placed the dead puppet in a box inside the warehouse and hid it. Later, I decided to finish my meditation as the sun rose. Even though I'd sworn to do my next mediation in my room, I couldn't resist the view of the city's morning horizon.

My chanting was soon interrupted once again by Starfire.

"Raven," she said cautiously. "Forgive my interruption, but—"

"I haven't seen Robin, Cyborg, or Beast Boy," I told her quickly.

"Truthfully, I am wishing to join you in mediation."

"Really? Alright." I turned toward her as she floated before me. "Find your center. Focus you energies, and…"

Together we said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

I sneaked a peek at her. "Starfire?"

"Would you like to go to the mall after breakfast?"

She nodded happily.

We continued chanting until the boys came in for breakfast. I had tea, while Beast Boy and Cyborg argued about who would cook again. Finally, they decided on waffles.

Just as I had promised, Starfire and I went to the mall after breakfast. For some reason, we spent hours there, even though we didn't visit that many stores. We spent the majority of our time talking to each other—Starfire spent a lot of time dressing me up in some of the clothes.

When we returned, I surprised myself even more: "You know, I never got the chance to play with _my_ puppet. Is yours still looking for a fight?" We had all decided to keep our puppets as a memento.

She smiled and dropped her bags in all the excitement. Starfire quickly fetched hers, but couldn't find mine, even though I'd given her specific instructions as to where it would be.

We went into the living room and found Beast Boy playing with his puppet and mine. I frowned when I saw that he had forced my puppet to play the damsel in distress character.

"Oh, Beast Boy," said Puppet Raven, who was in Puppet Beast Boy's arms, "you're so strong and brave! My hero!"

Puppet Beast Boy shrugged. "It's all in a day's work, ma'am."

I snatched my puppet away from him and glared at Beast Boy. "Where did you get my puppet?"

"Uh," said Beast Boy nervously. "Nowhere."

"She was in _my_ room. You didn't go in there, did you?"

He scurried away quickly, leaving the coffee table to me and Starfire. I grew bored of using my hands for my controller, so I used my powers instead. Puppet Starfire put up a good fight. In the end, she won over my puppet.

"Raven," said Starfire as we put our puppets to the side.

"Yeah?"

"Your thought for flight…was it really about me?"

"No," I told her honestly, regretting the fact that I had lied to her.

"Was it…about Beast Boy?"

I frowned. "No."

Yet again, I was lying.


	6. Chapter Five: Apprentice

We met Aqualad, an undersea hero. Beast Boy wasn't too happy of the…liking I took to Aqualad. I think part of it had to deal with the fact that Aqualad had accidentally intruded on Beast Boy's solo mission. In the end, Aqualad became our first Honorary Teen Titan.

Cyborg built what he calls the "T-car"—otherwise known as his "baby". Despite the fact that I disagreed with his affinity for the car, I found a moment to bond with Cyborg. I even helped him rebuild his baby after it was destroyed in a match with Overload.

We were kidnapped by an old British guy who called himself Mad Mod. He put us in his version of school and tried to "retrain" us so that we wouldn't be heroes. Part of me wishes I had given in while we were trapped there. Somehow, I ended up listening to the part that told me to fight it.

We also got our first look at Slade. He was different than his drones looked. Only one side of his mask was visible—the orange side. I'm not even sure if he has another eye to look through the black side with. His voice is deep, and his body is muscular. I'm almost curious to see what might lie underneath his mask.

Speaking of masks, Robin thought that in order to get close to Slade, he would have to go into a partnership with Slade. But to do that, Robin withheld important information—information like how he became our temporary villain, Red X.

I hate to admit it, but I was actually quite hurt because Robin chose not to trust us with his obsessive research on Slade. I can only imagine how the others may feel.

One's thing for sure: Robin has broken our trust.

I looked around the room as the projection of Slade came up on our screen. "Good morning, Teen Titans. I do hope I didn't wake you."

Beast Boy yawned and took his place beside me. "What are you? An insomniac? Dude, who calls at five in the morning?"

I elbowed him, hoping that he would keep his mouth shut from that moment on.

"What do you want," Robin demanded.

Slade's head tilted. I imagined a smile behind his mask. In a patronizingly calm voice, he said, "Well, that's precisely what you've been trying to figure out, isn't it? And in spite of all your efforts, you're still in the dark or my intentions. Disappointing, Robin. I expected a little more from you."

Robin scowled. "Like I care what you—"

Think? Is that what you were about to say, Robin? Think? Yes, we all know you don't care about what he thinks of _you_. No, you're much more obsessed about something else, aren't you? He's baiting you with it.

"But since you've been unable to discover my plans, I suppose I'll just have to reveal it myself." He gestured behind him as two of his drones pulled the cover off of a device. "I'm sure you're all familiar about the concept of a Chronoton Detonator."

Even I couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped my lips. How had a person like Slade gotten hold of such a thing?

_Irrelevant_.

The better question is how had a person like Slade _not_ gotten the detonator _sooner_?

"No way," cried Beast Boy. I doubted he really knew what was going on. Proving my theory, he said, "What's a Crouton Detonator?"

I rolled my eyes at his ignorance.

"It eradicates all chronotons within a localized area, utterly destroying the temporal component of the space time continuum."

Beast Boy still looked confused. I decided to put Starfire's translation in layman's terms for him: "It stops time. Permanently."

Cyborg frowned. "If he triggers that thing downtown, it'll freeze-brain the entire city."

"Tell me where," Robin demanded.

Again, I imagined Slade was smiling. "You're a clever boy, Robin. I'm sure you and your little friends can figure it out. However, since _I_ control the detonation, time is not on _your_ side." His transmission faded out.

Robin slammed his fist down on the keyboard. "Fan out," he ordered. "Find it. Shut it down."

I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow at Beast Boy and Cyborg. They blocked Robin's path as he tried to walk away.

"Hey, uh," said Beast Boy, "maybe you should stay here and coordinate the search."

"What?" cried Robin. Obviously, he didn't understand why we would want him here and _not_ out looking for Slade.

Cyborg said, "Man, when it comes to Slade, you got issues. Might be better for the team if you sit this one out."

"No. There's too much at stake for me to—"

"Robin," said Starfire gently. If anyone could reel him back in to sanity, it'd be her. Everyone knows better than to leave it to me. "We have not forgotten the last time you faced—"

"I made a mistake, Starfire. It won't happen again. I can handle it. I promise."

Guess even Starfire couldn't convince him. Seeing as there was no more use fighting him about it, I moved over to the computer and pulled up Slade's transmission again. "Would you at least like to know where to look?" I pulled up the part where he'd shown us the detonator. "Slade gave us more information that he realized."

I focused the image on a smudge in the picture. "Here, in this reflection."

"Ooh," said Beast Boy. "Squiggly lines. _Way_ informative."

I frowned and typed on the keyboard. It's a good thing Robin didn't damage it in his fit of rage. After refocusing the screen and reflecting the reflected image, I revealed the words that were on the picture.

"Pier 41," cried Starfire.

"The docks," Robin confirmed.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at Beast Boy. A smug smile even crept onto my lips.

Beast Boy smiled back at me sheepishly.

At Cyborg's request, we took the new and improved T-car to the docks. When we reached Pier 41, Cyborg used his cannon to create an opening.

We rushed into the room, prepared to fight. I was disappointed when I realized that there was no one to fight _with_. The room had been completely cleared out.

"Empty," said Starfire, mirroring my disappointment.

"Aw, man," Cyborg cried.

"I don't believe this," Robin said in a tensed voice.

Suddenly, hordes of Slade's drones dropped down from the ceiling. A few even blocked the exit behind us, not like we were about to run from this.

"Great," Beast Boy mumbled, tensed to fight. "Now what do we do?"

Robin pulled out his metallic staff. "We fight. Titans, go!"

We went.

I spread my hands out toward the drones and said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth—" I had to stop myself as Robin lunged in front of me and took out the drones around me. Idiot. Doesn't he know how dangerous it is to get in the way of my chants? I was about to chastise him for being so reckless, when I caught a glimpse of his eyes.

I saw something dark, something frightening—something primal. His fury couldn't compare to anything I had seen in the Titans before. I thought he was going to stop, but he didn't. He tore through the rest of the drones; he didn't give anyone else a chance to even _touch_ them.

Robin tackled the last one to the ground and beat it over the head repeated with his metal staff. It had long since lost its life span, but Robin didn't seem to notice.

Finally, Cyborg spoke up, "Uh, Robin? I think you got it."

"Yes," said Starfire, stepping forward. "Please. You may stop now." She grabbed the hand that had the metal staff and held it in hers. "We are victorious."

Robin stood up with a scowl. "Slade's got his finger on the button, and we've got nothing. Does that sound like a victory to you?" He led us outside.

I put my arm around Starfire's shoulder. She assured me that she was fine, but I knew she was lying.

"Okay," said Cyborg. "We know the Chronoton Detonator was here; now we just have to figure out where it went."

"No problem," Beast Boy said with a shrug. "We should split up and—"

"Waste hours searching, only to come up empty-handed?" My anger toward Robin was affecting my attitude toward everyone.

"Well, when you say it like _that_…"

"Raven is right," said Starfire. "We must find some way to track the device."

Suddenly Robin took off, yelling, "Freeze!"

The man didn't freeze, of course. When do they ever? Robin chased after him, and we chased after Robin. We caught up to him just as he began interrogating a poor civilian about a symbol he'd found earlier.

I encased Robin in black energy and placed him up against the opposite wall. I left only his head out of the casing. "You said you could handle it," I told him. I let him go.

"You promised," said Starfire.

Robin frowned. "We're wasting time." He walked off.

Beast Boy stepped forward. "You know, just 'cause we're tryin' to catch Slade doesn't mean you have to act like him."

Robin froze in his tracks. I felt my body tense up, ready to defend Beast Boy should the situation call for it. "Don't you _ever_ compare me to him," he growled. He walked back toward us. "He's trying to _destroy_ the city; I'm trying to _save_ it!"

Suddenly, Starfire sneezed. The sneeze ended up singeing the top of my cloak. Way to end the awkward silence.

"Gesundheit," I told her.

She sniffled. "Forgive me. I am allergic to metallic chromium. There must be a source near—" We barely made it out of the way in time before she sneezed again. She sniffled again. "Sorry."

"Interesting," said Cyborg as he held up his arm.

Starfire sniffled. "Not really. On my world, chromium-allergies are quite common."

"No," he said. "The key component of a Chronoton Detonator is a metallic chromium core, which means—"

"Starfire can track it," said Beast Boy with a smile. He was probably happy that he'd gotten something right today.

Starfire's allergies led us through the sewers. Every so often, she would sneeze, telling us that we were closer. If she stopped sneezing, we turned around and tried a different route.

She sniffled again. "I believe it is this way."

"Look, guys," said Robin, "about earlier—"

"It'll have to wait," I told everyone as I pointed ahead at a drone who was loading a small boat with the detonator.

"Titans, go," cried Robin.

The drone started the boat and took off through the water.

Robin raced forward. "Quick! We can't let him get away!"

Suddenly, Cinderblock crashed through the wall and pulled Robin into the hole.

"Robin," cried Starfire as we followed him.

"Get the detonator," he replied as he dodged one of Cinderblock's punches. "Go!"

We paused for a moment, but after seeing that he could hold his own, we did as he asked. I was reminded of the times he'd sent us off while he played Red X. I shook the thought from my head and chased after the drone with my team. Starfire lingered a little longer. She must've been thinking the same thing.

"Star, you heard the man," said Cyborg.

After another moment, she picked up Cyborg and followed us. We caught up to the boat pretty quickly. When the drone realized that we were behind him, he set the boat's defensive mode.

We dodged the beams of light that was shot at us.

Cyborg frowned. "I will not be havin' attitude from a _boat_!" He aimed his cannon and destroyed the blasters on the side of the boat.

The drone tried to speed up, but he was no match for us.

Cyborg gave Starfire a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the lift," he said before she dropped him onto the boat. With one punch, he knocked the drone overboard, but not before it had activated the auto pilot. In his attempt to counteract it, Cyborg accidentally ripped off the steering wheel. Then, in an attempt to _fix_ his mistake, he tried pressing the buttons in a random order.

Starfire dropped down on board beside him.

As Cyborg pressed more buttons, the boat spun out of control.

Starfire asked, "How does one halt this vehicle?"

Cyborg grabbed the control panel and ripped it out of the boat. Moments later, it coasted to a stop.

I dropped down and frowned at the control panel in Cyborg's hands. "Please tell me that's not how you plan on stopping the detonator."

Cyborg gave me a sheepish smile.

Beast Boy said, "You _do_ know how to stop it, don't ya?"

Cyborg tossed the panel into the water. "How hard could it be?"

Comforting. Very comforting.

He made his way to the machine and jumped back as it sprang to life. "Ooh," he said quietly.

"Whatever we're gonna do," I said, "we should do it before Slade decides to trigger this thing."

"You're right. Open this control panel for me, Raven?"

I used my dark energy to remove the screws and the panel from its place, revealing a large red ball of light.

"The chromium core," said Cyborg. "Very unstable. No sudden moves."

Starfire looked as if she was about to sneeze. I encased her head in a ball of black energy and waited until her sneeze was over. Sure enough, my magic contained her sneeze. "Please continue," she said quietly.

"Okay," said Cyborg. "Now all we have to do is decouple the—" He cut through a cord with his blowtorch finger and stopped as the red ball suddenly began to beep wildly.

"That doesn't sound good," said Beast Boy.

"Moment of truth, y'all," said Cyborg with his finger raised. "Everybody ready?" He cut through another cord, and the red ball turned blue.

We all let out the air that we'd held since he'd cut the first cord. Our relief was short-lived, as the blue ball suddenly turned red again. The machine beeped and cackled—and then just as suddenly deflated.

"Um," said Beast Boy, "why are we not frozen in time forever?"

"Because this wasn't a Chronoton Detonator. It was a fake."

I heard a clicking sound behind me, but didn't know what it was until the red beam had already hit me. We were thrown into the water by the blast.

We resurfaced, looking around as if something else was supposed to happen.

Beast Boy stuck out his tongue. "So aside from the nasty taste of sewer water in my mouth, I think I'm okay."

Cyborg checked his statistics on his arm. "Diagnostic sensors say I'm just fine."

"Whatever that beam was _supposed_ to do," I said, "it didn't do it."

Starfire smiled. "Then we are victorious?"

It took us a while to find a way out of the sewers. By that time, Starfire was worried sick about Robin. As Beast Boy helped me out of the manhole, I came upon Starfire trying Robin's T-communicator again.

"Robin," she asked. "Robin? Robin, please respond." She looked at us. "Why does he not answer?"

"His locator's been deactivated," said Cyborg. "We have no way to find him."

"Not good," said Beast Boy.

Starfire tried the T-communicator again. "Robin, please, you must answer. Robin? Please respond. Robin, where are you?"

We split up in search of Robin. The entire time, we were narrated by Starfire trying Robin's T-communicator. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore; I returned to the Tower to check our locations. "Starfire, enough. You've been calling for forty-five minutes."

"Perhaps if I just try one more—"

"Come on, Star," said Beast Boy. "If he's gonna pick up, he'd have done it by now. 'Sides, you're kinda givin' me a headache."

"But why does he not respond? Where could he be?"

"Robin and Cinderblock definitely went a few rounds, but I can't tell who won. Or where they went," Cyborg said.

I looked at the locations of my teammates. Only three came up on screen. "No sign of him here either. His locator's still offline. I've been monitoring all the frequencies, but he hasn't checked in."

"Oh, we're bad friends," cried Starfire. "We should never have left Robin to do battle alone."

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "Especially since Slade's big doodad was a dud."

I frowned. "The Chronoton Detonator wasn't a dud; it was a decoy to lure us away from Robin. And we fell for it." I thought about my words. Technically _we_ didn't fall for it; we followed Robin's obsessive orders.

Cyborg grunted on the other end. I imagined he was hitting something to take his frustration out on. "I should've known that thing was a fake."

"But why?" Starfire asked. "Why did Slade wish to separate us from Robin?"

Beast Boy said, "And if the detonator was a decoy…"

I finished his sentence, "What was Slade's _real_ plan?"

Suddenly Cyborg yelled, "Titans, trouble!"

We met up at a scientific research facility where a thermal blaster was being stolen. The criminal evaded the security guards, but not us. We surrounded him from both sides of the railing.

"Freeze," cried Cyborg.

Obviously he hadn't learned from Robin earlier this morning. The criminal took off down a different route, making us chase after him to the other end of the building. When the criminal realized that he had nowhere else to run, he tensed, ready to fight us.

The moonlight hit his face and we saw our enemy.

"That's not Slade," Beast Boy mumbled. "That's—"

"Robin," Starfire confirmed. "Robin, why are you—"

He threw a device at her that exploded in her face, knocking her backwards. I helped her up.

"Yo," cried Cyborg.

"What is your _deal_," Beast Boy demanded.

As we charged forward, Robin aimed the thermal blaster at the bridge before us and blew it up.

"What are you doin'," Cyborg asked.

While the smoke lifted into the air, Robin disappeared.

"Robin," said Starfire sadly.

We returned to the base in low spirits. None of us had the energy to talk when we got back—except for Beast Boy.

"There are only two logical explanations," he told us. "One: Robin's been replaced by an evil robot double. Two: he's another innocent victim of zombie mind control."

I frowned at him. "As logical as that sounds," I told him, "if anything was controlling his mind, I would've sensed it."

"And my scanners confirmed his biometrics," said Cyborg. "That was the real Robin. _Our_ Robin."

"Lies," Starfire screamed. "That was _not_ Robin! Your scanners are wrong. Robin is our friend, and nothing could ever make him betray us. Nothing."

As much as I wanted to believe her, I had to face the facts. And she did too. Life isn't fair. We can't pick and choose what we want to believe in it. "But something _did_."

"Three words," said Beast Boy suddenly. "Disgruntled radioactive clone."

Cyborg held him up by his collar.

My anger surfaced. In an act of rage, I jumped up and kicked Beast Boy, who flew into the kitchen table. I was aware of Cyborg looking at me in fear. "No matter what the reason, no matter how much we wish it wasn't true, Robin's a criminal now. And just like any other criminal—"

"The Teen Titans have to bring him down," said Cyborg.

As the alarm went off in the Tower, Beast Boy ran to the computer to check the alert. We all knew who it would be, but Beast Boy confirmed it: "It's _him_."

We raced over to the building where he was, and found him stealing another metallic object.

Cyborg said in a loud voice, "You're not walking out of here, Robin. Not without a fight."

Robin ran at us with a battle cry.

"Titans, go!"

Robin jumped onto Cyborg's back and jumped between me and Starfire to the ceiling. He disappeared through one of the panels.

"He's getting away," cried Beast Boy.

"No he's not," I said through gritted teeth. I closed my eyes and sensed his location above us. We traveled through my dark energy to the rooftop, where Robin had stopped.

"Robin," cried Cyborg. "Look, I don't know what's goin' on, but we don't wanna fight; we just wanna talk."

Speak for yourself, Cyborg. I wasn't completely opposed to fighting Robin. After all he'd done, he could use a good beating.

Robin leapt through the air, and kicked Cyborg backwards with his foot.

Beast Boy's face darkened as he cracked his knuckles. "Guess there's nothin' to talk about." He morphed into a gorilla and quickly brought his fists down on Robin, who dodged him.

Robin led him up the neon sign of the building and then trapped Beast Boy in the hole of the "A". He dropped down from the letter and faced Starfire.

"Please," she started.

He ignored her and lunged at me. I created a shield with my hands and blocked his foot. I managed to dodge his attacks pretty well. I was surprised when Cyborg suddenly attacked me before I realized that Robin had been his intended.

Beast Boy must've freed himself, because a green goat slammed into Robin, who rolled over to the edge of the building. Beast Boy morphed back into his human form and ran up to him. "Dude, are you okay?"

Robin threw Beast Boy into Cyborg, who toppled onto the ground.

I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to use these words against him, but it seemed like I had to. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" My eyes emitted black rings that encased Robin's body, save for one arm that he managed to wiggle out.

He threw a device that exploded in the sign beside me, blinding me with light. I fell to the ground, and saw stars after hitting my head.

Beast Boy helped me to my feet. I looked up and saw Starfire holding her green hand at Robin.

"Stop," she declared. "Do. Not. Move."

He held up his thermal blaster.

Starfire said, "Robin, you are my best friend. I cannot be in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil then go ahead." She lowered her arm. "Do what you must."

Robin's lucky. Had it been me, I would've taken the shot. Had it been me, I wouldn't have cared that we used to be friends. Had it been me—I would've killed him.

Robin lowered his blaster. "Starfire, no, I—" A high-pitched squeal made him clutch his ear.

Suddenly Starfire's body was covered in orange spots. She twisted and turned in pain.

"Starfire," cried Robin.

It was as if a series of needles was continuously being jammed into my body. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground. Somewhere, I think I heard someone say my name. I know I heard Robin telling someone to stop, but I didn't see anyone else. I _couldn't_ see anything.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

Beast Boy helped me to my feet again. "Okay," he said, "weirdness. What just—" He was interrupted as Robin crashed down upon us with his blaster. He grabbed Beast Boy by his foot and flung him into me.

When I was on my feet again, Robin was shooting us with his blaster. I created a shield to guard me from it as Beast Boy jumped onto Robin's face. I caught sight of his blaster as Robin threw Beast Boy off and encased the weapon. With a smile, I broke it into numerous irreparable pieces.

He grabbed my hand and forced me to the ground before continuing on. I stood up and joined my team as we surrounded him. If Robin wanted to escape us, he'd have to jump off the building. I didn't put it past him, but, still…

Robin threw four explosive devices that caused us to lose our focus so that we could dodge them. While the dust settled, Robin disappeared.

"He's gone," I told the team.

Cyborg asked, "Everybody okay?"

"I know where Robin picked up that heat ray," said Beast Boy, "but where did he learn that little glowly-hurty trick?"

"I do not think _that_ was Robin," said Starfire. "Perhaps it is _Slade_ who has learned a new trick."

We returned to the Tower, the only place we could go to find out what was wrong with Robin. Cyborg hooked Beast Boy up to a machine. Moments later, he declared, "I think I found something! The enhanced sensors are picking up radio-interference from a nano-scopic scale." He brought up an image of Beast Boy's red blood cells, which were attached to mechanical devices.

I only had one word to describe the picture: "Whoa."

Beast Boy turned around. "Those things are _inside_ me? Ew!"

"They're inside _all_ of us," said Cyborg. "Billions of 'em."

Starfire said, "With such technology at his command, Slade can destroy us whenever he wants."

"Unless Robin does whatever he says," I pieced together.

Beast Boy crossed his arms. "And you guys thought my zombie idea was crazy."

"We need to find Robin."

We did. We used Beast Boy to track down Robin's scent, while I sensed his presence in every building we passed, and Cyborg listened out for his heartbeat. "Titans," said Cyborg when we closed in on his location, "get ready—we got trouble."

We came in Robin attacking Slade. There was a crack in Slade's mask, proving that Robin had put up a fight. "I made you my apprentice," said Slade. "All my knowledge, all my power, all for you. But the only thing you care about is your worthless little friends! If the Titans are so distracting, maybe I should just get rid of them."

Robin stood up, defeated. "Don't," he said quietly. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Good boy," said Slade. "And from now on, I'd like you to call me Master."

That must've been the breaking point for Starfire, because she threw a star bolt into Slade, knocking him to the ground. "Leave. Him. Alone."

"Robin," Slade groaned. "Attack."

"Get out of here," Robin yelled. "Go! You don't know what those beams did to—"

"Dude," said Beast Boy.

"We know," I told him.

Cyborg nodded. "And we don't care."

"We are your friends, Robin," said Starfire. "We are not leaving without you."

Slade stood up. "How very touching. But Robin doesn't need any friends." He pressed a button on his arm, starting the pain again.

I fell to the floor once again, unsure of what I could hear, and unable to see anything clearly. I think someone started running, and then there was an explosion. And then, suddenly, the pain was gone.

Slade had ripped off his controller, and was now ready to attack Robin.

Robin caught Slade's foot and threw him onto the ground. "Titans, go!" he cried.

Beast Boy used his tiger form to slash through Slade's outfit, while Cyborg and Starfire blasted Slade with their respective weapons. I encased Slade's feet and brought him crashing to the ground. Robin brought his foot to Slade's face, causing the black part of his mask to break off.

Slade held his hand to the left side of his face and ran away. Despite the fact that we had won, I was slightly disappointed to know that I hadn't seen Slade's face. I _had_, however, caught a glimpse of spiky brown hair. He grabbed a device and turned it on. "Another day, Robin. Another day."

The lights went out, and the building began to crumble. I scrambled around, looking for Beast Boy as the ceiling started to fall apart. When I found him, I grabbed his hand and flew him toward the exit Robin had found.

"Let's go home," Robin told us.

We did.

Cyborg had stolen the laser beam used to infuse us and hooked it up to his machine at the Tower. As usual, we used Beast Boy as the test subject.

Beast Boy mumbled something amidst all the wires and gadgets hooked onto him, but I couldn't quite make it out.

Cyborg smiled. "That's it, y'all. The Teen Titans are officially probe-free."

Beast Boy jumped up, freeing himself from the machinery. He danced around us. "Go Beast Boy! You're probe-less! No probes now! Go Beast Boy! Go Beast Boy! Get funky!"

"Um," I said quietly, though I still attracted everyone's attention. "I know this isn't my style, but we just kicked Slade's butt. Shouldn't we…celebrate or something?"

Beast Boy jumped onto Cyborg's back. "Yeah!"

Cyborg said, "All you can eat…"

"Free formed…"

Together, they said, "Breakfast explosion!"

"Sorry I asked," I muttered before they dragged me off to the kitchen.

Beast Boy smiled at me. "Who wants tofu waffles?"

"Man, _nobody_ wants tofu waffles," said Cyborg.

"I do. Pass me the soy milk."

I frowned and placed my hand underneath my chin as they argued about breakfast again. For once, it wasn't as annoying as it usually was. And though I regretted suggesting it, I realized that I had truly wanted a day to celebrate with my friends.

What's wrong with me?


	7. Chapter Six: Terra

The next few weeks were pretty boring. We fought a guy who claimed to travel through time—Warp, he called himself. Starfire came back with this huge story about how she'd gone twenty years ahead and we'd all broken up. I don't remember the entire thing, because I really hadn't been paying attention. Personally, I think she was just trying to scare us because of her Tamaranian friendship holiday thing.

Then, we dealt with this alien two-year old and his green dog that resembled Beast Boy. Beast Boy played a Prince and the Pauper and accidentally traded places with the dog; meanwhile, the dog was having too much fun running its tongue over my face. I thought it was Beast Boy, and while I outwardly said that I would kill him, I was honestly a little disappointed when I realized that it was just some space dog.

Beast Boy _did_, however, end up spending more time with me. I'm not sure what made him react this way so suddenly, but I don't really mind. Of course, I would _never_ tell him that.

I would _never_ tell him a lot of things.

We got a distress call about a giant scorpion chasing a young girl. We came upon the scene just as the blonde girl was cornered by the monster.

"Titans, go," cried Robin.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes began to glow yellow. The large rock bridge beside us lifted into the air and crushed the scorpion in front of her. The blonde girl smiled and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"She was not in trouble," said Starfire.

Cyborg said, "She was leadin' it into a trap!"

Robin said, "Question is—"

"Who is she," Beast Boy asked.

The girl looked up at us and used her powers to make a rock float up to us. "What," she said as she jumped onto our level. "Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?"

"I'm Robin," he said as he stepped forward. "We're the—"

"Teen Titans," she cried. "Rock on!" Was that supposed to be a joke? "Cool to meet you guys! I'm Terra. And you're.." She pointed at us respectively as she called out our names. "Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and—"

"Boy Beast," said Beast Boy. "Uh, I mean, Bath Boot. No!"

"Beast Boy?" she said with a smile.

Beast Boy turned into a turtle and spun around in his shell.

She laughed. "Dude! He's hilarious!"

He morphed back into his human form. "Hilarious? Me?"

She winked at him.

A frown settled on my face, deeper than usual. I looked over the skinny, lanky girl and found myself comparing her to me. I tried to shake away my emotion. When you're jealous, your spit turns into acid. When you're jealous, you eat yourself from the inside out.

Starfire flew up to her. "Curiosity abounds! Please, where do you come from, how did you get here, what is your favorite color, and do you wish to be my friend?"

Terra seemed a little uncomfortable, but she answered anyway. "Earth, walked, red, and sure."

Starfire crushed her in one of her hugs. "Hello, new friend!"

"How's it goin'," said Terra in a strained voice.

"So," said Beast Boy, "what brings such a cool little chicky to our big groovy city, huh?"

Cool little chicky? Big groovy city? I've never heard him use these words before.

Terra put her thumbs in her shorts and gave a cool shrug. "I go where the wind takes me, ya know? I get to see new places, meet new people, stomp a few bad guys here and there."

"Cool."

"Fascinating," said Starfire.

"Well, alright," said Cyborg with a smile.

I said nothing. I didn't want to speak to her. I already didn't like her.

Robin glanced at me and then looked at her. "You mean, you don't have a home?"

"The Earth is my home," she replied. "I've been crashin' in a cave on the other side of the hill."

'Unacceptable," Starfire screamed. "I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness."

"I have a flashlight," said Terra quietly.

Starfire grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the Tower. "You will stay with us."

"Really, I'm—"

"Come on," said Cyborg, "we got plenty of room."

Beast Boy smiled. "Yeah, and I can make you laugh some more. I'm hilarious, remember?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

I frowned again.

Terra laughed. "Well, I guess I _could_ stay one night."

I turned away from the four of them and looked at Robin, who was examining the dirt. "Everything okay?"

"Not sure," he replied. "Something just doesn't feel right." He got up and walked back to the Tower with me.

Back at the Tower, Terra looked at everything. "Whoa! Nice digs! And check out the view!" She jumped back onto the couch. "I can't believe you guys actually _live_ here."

Beast Boy slid into the seat beside her. "Su casa es me casa. So do you want the grand tour or…"

"Got any food," she asked suddenly.

She went through half of our groceries. She even was brave enough to try some of Starfire's homemade glorb; and she asked for more. "So where's the tub," she asked us when Starfire went to go make more.

She left so much dirt in the tub afterwards that Cyborg called it a "mud bath".

"Sorry," she said with an innocent smile. "Guess I was due for a rinse. Mind if I use your sink?" She washed her dirty clothes in our sink.

I frowned again as everyone stood around watching her. "Well, she seems…comfortable."

"Wonder how long it's been since she had a decent place to crash for the night," Beast Boy said.

I looked up and realized that the girl was now sleeping on our couch.

"She needs more than a place to crash," said Robin.

Starfire nodded. "She needs a home."

"Why not _our_ home," Beast Boy suggested. "She could stay here with us."

"Yes!"

"I don't know," I said quickly.

"She _would_ make a good addition to the team," said Cyborg.

"Maybe," said Robin. "Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow. We need to see what she can do."

I frowned, but they didn't want to talk about it anymore. Later that evening, Beast Boy came by my room, asking me for a blanket. "Will I get it back," I asked him as I folded one up in my hands.

"Of course. If you want, I'll even wash it."

"_You_ washing something? What's the occasion?" I shouldn't have asked. I didn't really want to know.

"I just thought Terra might need a blanket out there. Starfire didn't have one, and if I wanna borrow one from you again, I'm guessin' I should probably take care of your stuff."

Though I appreciated him taking care of my things, I didn't appreciate the fact that it was going to _Terra_. I knew for a fact that she wasn't even in the building anymore. The blanket would be completely useless to her if she was out in the warm air.

I shoved the blanket into his chest. "Keep it," I growled before slamming the door. I hated being mean to him, but I didn't know what else to do at that moment. Beast Boy's been dumb before, but I think that only a real _idiot_ would come to me to ask me to do something for _Terra_.

After a few moments, I watched him walk out and join Terra on the shore. I'm not sure why I watched, but I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away. At first, they just skipped rocks, then they made faces at each other, and then that awkward silence came—the one the occurs between two people when they're attracted to each other; the one that occurs between Starfire and Robin.

Suddenly Beast Boy's rock flipped him over. At first I thought that I'd done that, but then I realized that Terra was apologizing to him. It was at that moment that I figured it out: Terra couldn't control her powers.

The next morning, I was scheduled to run the timer while the Titans went through training. Cyborg went first. We watched him go through the obstacles with ease. He didn't even really seem to break a sweat. He finished with two minutes and seventeen seconds.

"Boo-yah," he yelled. "New course record!"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, yeah, you're the first one to do the course."

"Okay, Terra," said Robin. "Ready to show us what you can do?"

I watched Beast Boy try to give some words of encouragement to Terra, but she seemed to shrug them off.

It was completely obvious that she had no real control of her powers. She crashed into and destroyed every obstacle that was thrown at her. I glanced at Robin and said, "We're gonna need a new obstacle course."

He frowned.

One good thing came out of her: she beat Cyborg's time. "Looks like we have a new course record," I told him.

He smiled at me. "I must've softened it up for her."

What would've been a smile turned into a frown as I watched Terra hug Beast Boy.

"A little rough around the edges," said Robin, "but you've got some real talent there."

She smiled. "Ya think?"

"With a little more training, you could—" He was interrupted by the distress signal from our T-communicators.

"Okay," said Terra, "why is everybody blinking?"

"Trouble."

We went inside to see what the trouble was all about. Our answer was not pretty.

"Slade," Robin growled. "He's back."

"Slade," Terra asked.

Beast Boy lowered his voice. "Bad guy. Way bad."

"Got a fix on his location," said Robin. "Titans, move out!"

I was less than enthused when Beast Boy invited Terra to join us. Last time I checked, she wasn't even an _Honorary_ Teen Titan.

We reached the mines in record time and found Slade's drones attacking some of the minors.

"Tell your boss we'd like a word with him," said Robin. "Titans, go!"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," I cried as I sent a mine cart into a group of drones.

"Raven, look out," Beast Boy warned me.

I didn't allow my joy to distract me as I turned and shielded myself from one of the drone's lasers. It shot back at him, drawing attention to myself. I flew upwards, dodging the shots that came my way.

Suddenly I heard Terra scream, "_Beast Boy_!"

I immediately stopped what I was doing and turned to see the large pile of rocks that blocked the mining entrance. Any drones that crawled out of there were damaged beyond repair.

I flew forward and furiously tore through the rocks, trying to find him. Robin helped me, but he didn't see him either. Suddenly, I freed a large rock, which Beast Boy, in the form of sasquatch, managed to get out from underneath. My heart filled with relief to the point where I thought I might cry. I wouldn't of course. Witches don't cry; I don't cry in public.

"You okay," Robin asked him.

The sasquatch nodded his head and then morphed back into his original form. "Where's Terra?"

Terra. Of course he asked for Terra. Normally, he'd have thanked me for helping him out. Normally, he'd stay with me and help fight Slade's drones. But not anymore. _Terra's_ here.

Beast Boy ran after Terra while we finished off the drones. Somewhere in the midst of the fight, I felt the rumbling of the mines. I flew over to my friends and said, "We need to get out of here."

"Slade's tryin' to bring down the whole mine," Cyborg exclaimed.

I frowned. If only he knew.

Robin did. "I'm not sure he's the one doing this."

"I cannot locate Terra or Beast Boy," said Starfire.

Suddenly the rumblings stopped.

I frowned. "I think Beast Boy's located Terra," I mumbled. We went through and found them embracing in a deeper part of the mines. Great, so while _we_ were working our butts off trying to fight off Slade's drones, _they_ were getting cozy in the caves. This time, I didn't let my jealousy slide off. I let it bubble and boil.

When we got back to the Tower, Terra said, "Well, guys, it's been real. Seriously, thanks for everything, but I should—"

"Don't even think about it," said Cyborg.

Actually, I'd prefer she did.

"Okay, what's going on," she asked us.

I frowned. "Well…"

Cyborg said, "We talked it over and—"

Starfire jumped up and down. "We wish for you to stay here."

Robin smiled. "We think you'd make a great addition to our team."

"So," said Beast Boy, "wanna be a Titan?"

Robin handed her a T-communicator.

She took it in her hand and stared at it. "Me? A Titan?"

"Of course," said Robin. "You'll need more training." Idiot. Didn't he know what these words would mean to her? Didn't he know that he was saying the wrong thing? "I know you have trouble controlling your powers, and we can help—"

Terra dropped her T-communicator and turned on Beast Boy with fierce blue eyes. "You told him?"

"I didn't," he swore. Even an imbecile could tell that he was telling the truth.

"You promised! You lied to me! You lied!" She ran out of the room.

"Terra, no," he cried as he ran after her. "Wait!"

He didn't return with her. For a moment, I was torn. I hadn't wanted her to be here, but I also didn't want to see him sad either. So I decided at that moment what I would feel for Terra: hatred.


	8. Chapter Seven: Only Human

Training isn't usually my favorite part of the day…but it does prove to be the most interesting sometimes. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and I usually end up doing the same things; but it's fun to watch Cyborg test his limits with some of the other attractions.

I stopped my chanting when I heard Cyborg groan. I'm used to hearing him groan as he tries to push himself even harder, but this one was different, more strained. Today he was holding up a large metal object, and things were getting heavier by the ton as more weights were dropped onto him.

I followed the Titans to his side to watch him struggle. It's a wicked thing, wanting to watch someone struggle and fail, but I'm a wicked girl.

"Just a little more," Cyborg said through gritted teeth.

"Come on, Cyborg," cried Robin. "Push!"

"What's it…look like I'm doin'?"

Beast Boy fist pumped the air. "Punch it, Cy! Straight through the roof!"

Starfire cheered, "Yes! Inform that large, massive metal who is the boss!" She looked to me as if I was supposed to say something.

I shrugged. "Uh, go, Cyborg?" It was a good attempt on my part, seeing as I don't usually cheer people on. I sat back quietly while my other teammates continue to cheer Cyborg on.

Above the noise, a high-pitched beeping sound came from Cyborg's arm. I recognized the sound immediately. His limit.

"It's no good," Cyborg yelled. "Shut it down!"

I was on my way to do so when I was suddenly stopped by Robin's words: "No way, Cyborg! I won't let you quit! Come on! Push!"

Push? Doesn't he know that a robot has limits? Doesn't he know that there is no more "push" left in him? I shook my head and crossed my arms. He'd find out soon enough.

"I can't," Cyborg protested.

"Yes you can!"

"No…I…_can't_!" Cyborg rolled out from underneath the machine before he could be crushed underneath it. I was proud of Cyborg for not giving in to Robin's goading. He has limits that can't be pushed; he needs to accept that as quickly as possible.

Robin offered his hand to Cyborg to help him stand.

Beast Boy smiled and gave Cyborg a thumbs up sign. "I give you a nine for the dive, but a two for the landing." He shrunk back to where me and Starfire were after Robin gave him a glare.

Cyborg refused Robin's hand and stood up on his own. "Nobody asked you," he grumbled as he left the training room.

"Cyborg," said Beast Boy as he started to go after him.

I placed my hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Not a good idea." I looked over at Robin, the person to blame here, and nodded at him. Robin nodded back and raced out after Cyborg.

Moments later, Robin returned, but without Cyborg. "I didn't know," he said solemnly.

"It's okay, dude," Beast Boy reassured him as he moved out from under my grip.

"Where is Cyborg now," asked Starfire.

Robin jerked his thumb behind him, towards the living room. We followed him into the adjacent room and discovered Cyborg angrily playing a video game.

"Whoa," said Beast Boy. "And I thought _Raven_ looked grumpy."

I frowned but ignored his comment.

Starfire said, "Our friend is more dismal than the swamp moons of Molwark. Measures must be taken." I watched as she walked up to him, interested to see what these "measures" were.

She smiled at Cyborg, who was scowling at the screen. "To replenish your heart with warmness and cheer, I offer a traditional Tamaranian folk song." She took a deep breath.

_This_ should be interesting. I placed my hands over my ears, expecting the worse. I got it.

The air shattered with a horrifying sound that came from Starfire's mouth.

Cyborg screamed at her in anger, "Starfire, cut it out!"

It was that moment that Cyborg's virtual opponent beat his character. The score was now tied one to one. The glare that Cyborg gave Starfire even frightened me a little bit. Starfire retreated to our corner.

"Let me try," said Beast Boy.

I smiled, knowing that it would not turn out the way he'd want.

"Okay, dude," said Beast Boy as he stepped in front of Cyborg. "Keep your eye on the cookie." He put it into his mouth and jumped into the air as he morphed into a whale. The whale spit the cookie out of its hole and then became an elephant, which sucked the cookie into its trunk. Then the elephant became Beast Boy, who stuck out his tongue, revealing a crumbling cookie. "Ta-da!"

Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy by his face and tossed him over his shoulder. He then resumed playing the game.

I realized that I was the only one who hadn't tried anything. Before anyone could prompt me, I decided that it would be best if I gave it a shot.

"You're supposed to laugh," cried Beast Boy. "What do I have to do? Make it fly out my—"

"Let me try," I told them. I walked over to Cyborg and tried to think of something to say. Nothing came out.

I think he realized that I wasn't really trying, because he said, "I don't wanna talk about it."

I returned to the Titans. "I tried."

Starfire came over to us with an instrument that reminded me of bagpipes. "Tamaranian folk songs are even more cheerful when accompanied by the Gorka Pipes."

"Uh, Starfire," said Robin. "Maybe he just needs some time alone. Come on, guys." He herded us out.

I wish he'd insist that _I_ be left alone sometimes. I frowned and started to make my way back to my room.

"Hey, Raven," said Beast Boy.

"What do you want?"

"We haven't spoken much lately."

"I've been trying to give you your…space." I eyed him warily, not sure where he stood about the whole Terra thing. I know where I stood.

"Is that your way of asking me if I'm okay now?"

I frowned. "I don't care if you're okay."

He grabbed my hand and smiled. "You don't have to hide it, Raven. I know you're worried about me."

"Not worried." It wasn't a lie. I'm not worried about him. I angry _for_ him. He didn't deserve to left without a goodbye like that. I hate her for it.

A crash interrupted us suddenly. Robin and Starfire came running down the hallway, causing me to rake my hand out of Beast Boy's.

"Titans," said Robin. "I think we have trouble!"

We raced to the living room and discovered that a hole had been melted into our screen. As we got closer to the hole, we discovered Cyborg fighting with another robot in the river.

"Cyborg," cried Robin.

"I think he went out for some air," said Beast Boy.

Yeah, with a new friend, it looks like.

"Titans, go!"

We leapt out of the Tower and ran over the rocks to the shore. Suddenly, a wide man stopped us in our tracks. He was lifted into the air by helium containers on his back.

"Sorry, folks," he said to us. "Can't let you interrupt the master. This match is one on—"

Robin grabbed the man by his jacket and flung him to the side. We made our way to the robot just as he threw Cyborg over the Tower. "Goodbye, loser," said the yellow and red robot.

Robin threw five explosives in his face. "Hope you came looking for a fight, 'cause you've definitely found one."

The robot proved to be impervious to Starfire's bolts and Robin's explosions. When I tried to wash him away with a giant wave, he managed to hold his ground. I don't think I even managed to budge him an inch. Beast Boy dropped down onto the robot in the form of a whale.

I was dumb to think that the robot would not be able to take this. He picked Beast Boy up and threw him toward us. Beast Boy had the sense to morph back before Robin caught him.

"Humans provide no challenge," said the robot as he aimed his cannon at us.

We leapt out of the way of the blast.

"Mechanic," said the robot, "refit."

The man that Robin had tossed aside earlier raced up to the robot and changed a panel on his arm. "Lookin' sharp out there, Atlas. You keep up the good—"

The robot ignored him and jumped back into battle. With one fell swoop, he blasted each of us with his cannon, encasing us in a ball of energy. Beast Boy morphed into different animals, but none of them were strong enough to break through. I tried using my powers, but it proved to be ineffective. Starfire's star bolts weren't strong enough. Robin, of course, tried to punch through the force, but it didn't do any good.

"No challenge at all," said Atlas. "But you will make amusing trophies." Suddenly Atlas was blasted from behind.

"Let 'em go," said Cyborg with his cannon raised.

Atlas destroyed Cyborg's cannon with a blast from his own. "Hold," he told Cyborg. "Atlas _will_ defeat you, but later. In a fair fight. No weapons, no friends."

"No," Cyborg yelled. "We finish this _now_."

"As you wish." He aimed his cannon at us.

Of course Robin would be the one who cracks. He was, after all, the first one in line of Atlas' cannon fire. "Cyborg, we'll be alright. Get your strength back, _then_ get Atlas."

The Mechanic floated down with a large mechanical seat. Atlas plopped into it and smiled. "The old stadium. Sunset. Come if you dare, and I will let you have your friends back." With a cackle of electric energy, my vision of Cyborg disappeared.

The Mechanic was immediately forced to put us in large trophy cups. It took him a long time. By the time he was done, it was already sunset.

Robin pounded on his energy ball. "You can't hold us here forever!"

"Now, don't be a sore loser," said the Mechanic. "Atlas is just better than you. Better than all of us!" He smiled.

Starfire frowned. "Your Atlas is nothing but a zalword toobag glitzing zormuncher!"

"Yeah, what she said," said Beast Boy. Sometimes I think it's better to agree with Starfire, even when we don't know what she's saying to us.

"You watch your tone," said the Mechanic. "Atlas is the greatest. He deserves you're respect."

I sighed. "So do we get bathroom breaks?" I didn't really have to go, I just wanted to get away from this subject. It was pointless. Cyborg would come for us.

"Mechanic," said Atlas. "Buff me."

The Mechanic smiled and rushed over to attend to him immediately. "You got it, Champ! Now, remember, that Cyborg's got a decent left hook, so keep an eye out for—"

Atlas' head spun around until it faced the Mechanic. "_Never_ tell me what to do."

"Sure thing, Chief."

"Yo, Goldilocks!" cried Cyborg as he stepped into the stadium. "Let's do this."

Atlas smiled. "I did not think you would come. Humans scare so easily."

"I'm only _half_ human."

"And half of nothing is still nothing. Mechanic!" He allowed the Mechanic to take off some of his add-ons. "I want a fair fight, human. So I shall _willingly_ forgo my arsenal."

"Say, tool boy, while you're at it, why don't you shut off his big, fat mouth?"

The Mechanic's face turned red. "Nobody talks that way to—"

Atlas stood up and charged at Cyborg. I looked away and saw Robin talking to the Mechanic. I turned back to the fight as Atlas slammed Cyborg into the stands. Cyborg got up and knocked Atlas to the ground. Before Atlas could get up, he jumped onto his stomach with both feet forward.

I found myself legitimately cheering for Cyborg. I found myself hoping that he would win. I found myself believing that he could do it.

Cyborg ducked underneath Atlas and threw punches into Atlas' lower abdomen. The problem with doing the same move multiple times is that your opponent knows how to counteract it. Seeing as he's played so many combat video games, you'd think Cyborg would've already known that.

Atlas grabbed Cyborg's hand and threw him into the ground, creating a hole to the construction underneath. He picked Cyborg up by his foot and tossed into the edge of the ring.

Cyborg collapsed to the ground but got up in time to avoid being hit by Atlas. From there, the robots took turns punching each other. In the end, Atlas must've proved too much, because he took many of Cyborg's turns.

Cyborg got up again and threw another fist at Atlas, who caught it once again. Atlas grabbed Cyborg's other hand and pushed against him. I was reminded of the training room earlier this morning. I wondered when it would all become too much for Cyborg—he'd been fighting for a long time.

Moments later, a high-pitched squeal form Cyborg's arm answered my question. His limit.

Atlas noticed it too. "It seems you have reached your limit. But Atlas has power to spare." He forced Cyborg to his knees and knocked him onto the ground.

"Atlas," the Mechanic cheered.

"_No one_ defeats Atlas," said the robot.

Cyborg lifted himself up. "Fine. You win. Now let my friends go."

"No."

I wasn't surprised. If Cyborg hadn't won, I hadn't expected to be given my freedom.

"But, Boss," said the Mechanic, "you said—"

"Your friends will remain as my trophies. And there is _nothing_ you can do about it."

"Cyborg," cried Beast Boy.

Even I realized that this was bad. I didn't see any chance of Cyborg getting up without any prompting. "_Please_," I begged him.

Robin said, "Get up, Cyborg! Get up and fight! You can still beat him!"

Cyborg looked at his arm. I knew he was looking at the part of him that told him how much power he'd used up. It was that moment when I realized that Cyborg would not be getting up. He would let Atlas take us. He would give in to his defeat.

"No," Cyborg said. "I can't."

"Fool," said Atlas with a smile. "Did you actually believe you could beat Atlas? I am all robot, and you are only human."

We disappeared into the ground and sank to Atlas' hideout. From there, he made us watch as he beat player after player in his online video game.

"Atlas wins again," he cried. "Derek Wyatt of East Gotham City, I dominate you!"

Beast Boy morphed into a goat, then a raven, and then a goat again. He fell onto his butt as each of his attempts failed.

"Give it a rest," I told him. "You're starting to repeat yourself."

"But we must discover a way out," cried Starfire. She took a step back and aimed a kick at the energy ball. It must've hurt her, because she grabbed her foot and began to rub it immediately.

The Mechanic floated over to us with two barrels of oil in his arms. "There is no way out. Now be quiet, humans. Master's tryin' to relax."

Starfire frowned. "I am _not_ human."

"But you are," said Robin. "You should be on our side."

"I'm on the _winning_ side," the Mechanic told him. "Atlas is the greatest. No one can defeat him—no one."

"If Atlas is so great, why does he treat you like a loser?"

It's because the Mechanic _acts_ like a loser. If he were to stand up for himself, maybe my view of him would change.

"Mechanic," cried Atlas. "Oil!"

"Comin' right up, Boss!" He threw a hesitant look back at us before attending to Atlas.

"So," said Beast Boy, " do you still have to go to the bathroom?"

I smiled and wondered if he knew I'd been lying. "I can hold it."

"Well, I can't," he said with a half-smile.

Starfire shook her head. "I cannot believe Cyborg has deserted us."

"He'll come back. He knows we're counting on him," I told her. I realized that I was getting strange looks from the team. I did sound uncharacteristically hopeful.

"Mechanic," cried Atlas. "More oil!"

The Mechanic brought him another barrel and watched as the robot downed it in one gulp.

Suddenly, Atlas spit out the oil onto the Mechanic's face. "This is cold, human! Bring me _warm_ oil!"

The Mechanic looked at us and then frowned at Atlas. "Get it yourself," he told the robot.

"What was that," asked Atlas. "No _human_ tells Atlas what to do." He threw him into the wall on the other side of the room. I was wrong. The Mechanic was still a loser, but at least he was starting to stand up for himself.

Suddenly Cyborg stepped into the room. "You sure about that? _I'm_ human, and I'm tellin' you to let my friends go."

I was filled with relief. I don't know whether I was glad that Cyborg had returned, or if I was glad that I hadn't been wrong about him. Maybe both.

The Mechanic crawled behind Cyborg and made his way over to us.

Cyborg punched Atlas into his screen, angering the robot. He managed to dodge Atlas' first attacks, but ended up being thrown into the ceiling. When he didn't come back down, I assumed that Cyborg had landed somewhere in the stadium.

The Mechanic pressed a button that brought us all to the surface.

"He doesn't respect you," said Robin to the Mechanic. "He doesn't even _like_ you. Why do you serve him?'

"I have no choice," said the Mechanic. "Atlas is stronger than me."

"No, he isn't. Atlas _needs_ you. _You're_ the one who fixes him. _You're_ his strength. Without you, he's _nothing_. And he knows it. _That's_ why he pushes you around. Atlas is afraid of you."

Isn't that always how it is? The bully is only a bully because he's afraid of the nerd who works for him?

Cyborg ducked underneath Atlas again, and then jumped over him instead and taking jabs at his underbelly. When Atlas tried to punch him, Cyborg caught his hand. Cyborg's free hand shot off into Atlas' face, knocking him backwards.

"Still got power to spare," Cyborg asked as he reattached his arm.

Atlas reached into the ground and pulled out a cackling electricity cord. "Plenty." He jammed it into Cyborg's chest. Atlas stood and looked at his lackey. "Mechanic: concussion blaster, heat cannon, now!"

What happened to a fair fight? No weapons, no friends? My contempt for this guy was growing by the second.

"No," said the Mechanic. He was tossed aside as Atlas ran over to the Mechanic's tool kit.

"Then stay out of my way!" He seemed pretty proud of himself until he saw the tools inside. It must've been at that moment that he realized he had no idea how to work anything in there.

The Mechanic pressed a button on his remote that disintegrated our energy balls. "Let's see how far you get without my help!"

"No," cried Atlas as he started to run in the opposite direction.

"Titans, go," cried Robin. He led us toward the exit, where we blocked Atlas from escaping. "You wanted a fair fight? That's what you're going to get."

"Five against one," said Atlas with a smile. "This is a _fair_ fight?"

A smile crept onto my face. "Oh, we're not fighting."

"Think of us as…referees," said Beast Boy with a grin.

Cyborg stepped forward. "It's just you and me."

We stood to the side and cheered Cyborg on as he fought against Atlas. I had to admit, I was quite impressed with Cyborg's endurance and strength. In the end, Cyborg found his hands trapped in Atlas' again.

Atlas bore down on Cyborg with a smile. "What's the matter," he asked as Cyborg's arm began to beep again. "Running out of steam?"

"Push, Cyborg," cried Robin. "You can do it!"

"You have reached your limit," said Atlas with a laugh. "You cannot win."

Cyborg grunted. "Yes…I…_can_!" He stood up, lifted Atlas over his head, and through the robot into the construction area on the other side of the stadium.

We followed Cyborg to where Atlas had fallen underneath a pile of rubble.

Atlas looked up at Cyborg with shame. "No more," he begged. "I am defeated. You _are_ a better robot."

"No," said Cyborg. "I'm a better _person_."

We exited the stadium. The Mechanic thanked us for helping him stand up to Atlas and went his separate way.

Beast Boy grabbed Cyborg's wrist with a smile. "And the winner by technological knockout, the mechanical maniac, the bionic bruiser, the one, the only Cyborg!" He held up Cyborg's arm.

Starfire crushed Cyborg in one of her alien hugs. "I shall express my gratitude with a Tamaranian folk song."

I frowned and placed my hand over her mouth. I couldn't help but smile at Cyborg as I said, "Way to go, Champ."

Robin pointed at Cyborg's arm. "Guess we better get you a new one of those."

Cyborg shook his head. "Don't need it anymore. My body may have its limitations, but if I put my mind to it, there's no limit that I can do."

No limit. His words strike a chord within me.

"After all," he said, "I'm only human.


	9. Chapter Eight: Fear Itself

When we got to the video game store, our enemy was already wreaking havoc. He used his remote to control a giant, killer TV set that had multiple electric cords sticking out from under it.

Cyborg blasted the TV before it could cause any harm to the cashier girl who still remained inside the store.

"Well, well, well," said a large nerd with orange hair as he hopped across the tops of the shelves. "If it isn't my old arch nemesis…es, the Teen Titans!"

"Um, yeah," said Beast Boy. To Cyborg, he said, "Who is this guy?"

The nerd pointed at the multiple television sets behind him and pressed a button on his remote control. Projections of him appeared on every screen.

"I am the master of monsters," they said, "I am your darkest nightmares come to life. I am…Control Freak!"

Control Freak pressed another button to make his projections clap for him.

I frowned and leaned against a shelf. "A couch potato with a souped-up remote. I'm petrified."

Control Freak smiled and pointed his remote in my direction. "You will be."

I backed up as a DVD return box sprang to life. It grew until its top reached the ceiling and growled at me. I had to admit, it was freaky, but not scary. I don't get scared.

Cyborg slammed his shoulder into the return box, drawing its attention away from me. "Don't worry, Raven," he told me. "I can drop the box." He threw it to the side and jumped on it before raining a series of punches on it.

I wasn't worried.

"Get his remote," cried Robin.

"Show's not over, Titans," said Control Freak with a smile. "And if you thought Part One was scary, just wait for the sequel." He pointed his remote and brought the cash registers, a shelf, and a standee to life.

As my friends took care of his lackeys, I went after Control Freak. "You like bad movies, right?" I encased some of the scattered movies in black energy and sent them shooting toward him.

His remote somehow caused my magic to be ineffective. He stopped them in midair and sent them flying toward me. "Yeah, but they like _you_."

The string of bad movies held my arms to my sides and pushed me backward. I managed to stand, only to find that a group of VCR tapes had chosen me as their next victim. Their film wrapped around my entire body.

I frowned. I'd had enough fun playing mummy. It was time to get serious.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" I cried as a bubble of black energy forced the tapes to release me. "You don't scare me," I warned.

"Look out," cried Beast Boy as he raced past me. "He'll eat your brains!" A standee of a cloaked figure with tentacles coming out chased after him.

I started to help him, but was distracted by the VCR tapes as _they_ chased after _me_.

Suddenly water from the sprinklers above us fell down on our enemies. If they didn't short out, they crumpled. Beast Boy smiled at me; even I was relieved to see the water fall.

Control Freak screamed in anguish, "My remote! I can't live without my remote!"

Robin took his remote away from him and pulled the guy closer to him by his shirt. "Ever think you watch too much TV?"

"This isn't over," he declared. "You hear me? This isn't over!"

"Looks pretty over to me," I said.

"Guys," cried Beast Boy suddenly. "Monster Movie Night!" He held up the DVD of Wicked Scary and placed it in front of the cashier girl we'd saved. He spent so much time looking for money that the girl finally just gave it to us for free.

After taking Control Freak to jail, we returned to the Tower. Though Beast Boy told us to stay in the living room, Robin retreated to his room to put his keepsake from Control Freak among all of his other trophies.

Beast Boy groaned and said through the intercom, "Robin! Emergency! Now!"

He was there so fast that it was hard to believe he hadn't been standing outside the door. "Report! What's the problem?"

"The problem is it's ShowTime, and you're not in your seat."

Robin frowned, but took a seat beside Starfire, who was holding the popcorn.

Starfire looked at Cyborg and said, "Cyborg, you are certain you do not desire unhealthy sugar candies?"

"Make it go away," he groaned. I think it had something to do with our battle with Control Freak.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Beast Boy, "get ready for the scariest night of your lives. Maybe Control Freak's monsters didn't scare you, but this movie is going to freak you out." He leaned forward and locked eyes with me as I glanced over the top of the book I was reading.

"Whatever," I told him. Like I said before, I don't get scared.

"Can't be any creepier than the documentary of hot dogs Starfire made us watch," said Robin.

Starfire smiled. "It was fascinating! I had no idea that Earth people ate so many pigs. And insects!"

Cyborg looked as if he was about to throw up. Odd, because he usually has the strongest stomach out of all of us.

"Yeah, yeah," said Beast Boy. "Bugs and hot dogs—big deal! _This_ movie's supposed to be cursed. When people watch it, strange things happen. Evil things." He let out an annoying attempt at an evil laugh.

"Just start the movie," I told him. If he was going to waste my time, it better be limited to how long the movie is.

He turned off the lights and played the movie.

Starfire hid behind Robin's cape most of the time. Cyborg and Robin looked away a couple of times. And Beast Boy hid within his shell as a turtle whenever things got too intense. At some point, it started raining outside. I watched the entire thing with my hood up.

I don't get scared. I _can't_ get scared. Witches don't get scared.

The movie ended with the creature finding the main character.

"Is it over," Beast Boy asked.

Starfire kept her eyes closed. "I dare not open my eyes to find out," she whimpered.

"Now I'm _really_ sick to my stomach," said Cyborg.

Robin said, "I've fought psychotic villains, robot commandos, and giant oozing monsters, but_ that_ is the scariest thing I have ever seen."

After a hiccough of silence, the four of them began to laugh.

Beast Boy stood up with a smile. "Did I tell you, or did I _tell_ you?"

"Thrilling, Beast Boy," cried Starfire. "It was wonderfully horrible!"

"Yeah, when she went into the basement," said Cyborg.

"And it was right behind her and she turned," said Robin.

"I was freakin' out! I wanted to turn it off."

I took off my hood and turned toward them. I ended up realizing that I was face to face with Beast Boy.

"So," he said, "come on, Raven, admit it. You were totally scared."

I frowned. "I don't _do_ fear," I told him. I may have lied. I don't know. It took me longer than usual to fall asleep in my room. Then, hours later, I was awoken by a clap of thunder. Or maybe it was my nightmare. I can't really say for sure.

I looked around my room to make sure I wasn't still dreaming. My room had never seemed creepy to me before, but it certainly did now. "Maybe I should consider redecorating," I told myself. I lay back down on my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin.

I haven't done that since I was a child. And the last time I did that—

The air was shattered by a scream in the night. I sat up and ran down the hallway until I reached the living room. I found my friends already there. "Who screamed," I asked them.

Robin said, "It sounded like something from the movie. Did we leave the TV on?"

Starfire shook her head. "We did not." She picked up the case. "And the movie is right here."

Suddenly the lights went out. I made my way to Cyborg, whose built in flashlight lit up the room. "Okay," he said, "that's creepy." He used his flashlight to search the room for anything that may have turned out the light.

"The storm," said Robin as the flashlight turned on him, "probably just tripped a circuit breaker."

A long, green tentacle slithered over Robin's shoulder.

Starfire screamed.

Robin smiled and knocked the tentacle off. "Okay, Beast Boy, you got us. Good one."

Beast Boy was standing beside me. He took a step forward. "Uh, dude?"

Cyborg turned the flashlight to the being behind Robin. I recognized it as the cloaked creature from the movie. With one fell swoop of its hands, it removed its hood and revealed its distorted face.

It flung Robin to the side. Beast Boy morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but was frightened when the creature roared back at him. It used its tentacles to grab hold of Starfire and Cyborg.

I frowned at it and said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth—" I extended my hands, but the energy never came. "My powers," I whispered. I didn't understand. Why would my powers fail me in my time of need? I was suddenly thrown back into the couch.

The monster disappeared, dropping my friends to the ground.

Starfire screamed. "Someone's claws are on my grebnaks!" I didn't bother to ask what that was.

Beast Boy stood up. "My bad."

Cyborg stood up and scratched his head. "There _was_ a monster here, right?"

"But where did it go," Robin asked.

Starfire stood up and said, "And from where did it come?"

"Hello," cried Beast Boy, "isn't it obvious? The movie's cursed! Watching it opened a portal to another dimension. The monster came through the portal, and now it's gonna hunt us down and eat us! And I'm probably delicious!"

"Or," said Cyborg with a roll of his eyes.

"Control Freak must've escaped and come to the Tower to get his remote," said Robin. "And take his revenge."

I stood up. "But that doesn't explain why my powers aren't working."

Cyborg said, "If that remote can turn candy evil, who knows what else it can do?"

"Whatever's going on," said Robin, "we need to get to the bottom of it. Split up and search the Tower!"

Beast Boy turned into an octopus and pulled us all back together. "Split up? _Split up_? Did you _not_ see the movie? When you split up, the monster hunts you down one by one at a time. Starting with the good-looking, comic-relief guy—me!"

"Get a grip, Beast Boy," said Robin. "The monster's not gonna eat anybody."

"He's right," I told them all. "There's nothing to be afraid of." I wasn't completely sure if I believed my own statement. The clap of thunder from the storm outside didn't help to settle my nerves.

We searched through the Tower—together, as Beast Boy requested—with Cyborg and his flashlight leading the way. Robin stayed close behind him, Starfire and I made up the middle, and Beast Boy held up our group in the rear.

As we passed another seemingly empty hallway, something cried, "Help me! Help me!"

"This way," said Robin as he turned toward the voice.

We followed the voice to Beast Boy's room. We didn't see anything inside, so we stepped in to take a closer look. The voice came from the closet. Robin opened the door and jumped back as a large pile of clothes fell down to the floor.

"Help me," cried a wind-up monkey toy with cymbals. "Help me count! One, two, three—"

Beast Boy laughed nervously. "I really oughta get rid of that thing."

I frowned at him. "You think?"

"Ooh," said Cyborg as we entered the hallway. "Look out, y'all. Big, scary monkey!" He laughed.

Beast Boy chuckled. "Yeah, Raven. You should've seen the look on your face."

My frown turned into a scowl. "You mean _this_ look?"

"No," he said. "That's more angry than scared."

"I already told you: I don't get scared."

A roar at the end of the hallway distracted me from my anger. The creature from the movie chased after us. I tried to levitate, but realized that I couldn't without my powers.

We went through a door and fell into darkness. I'm not sure when we would've hit the ground—I couldn't see anything. Robin must've realized that I couldn't fly, but he used his grappling hook to latch onto the ceiling and caught me. He helped me out of the doorway.

"Thanks," I told him.

"No problem," he said in return.

Starfire peered around the corner. "The creature is gone. We are safe…for the moment."

"Okay," said Beast Boy. "Don't even _try_ to tell me that didn't scare—" Long, green tentacles wrapped around his body and pulled him into the darkness of the room behind us.

"Beast Boy," I screamed.

"What did I tell you? Funny guy goes first!"

Robin raced forward and pried open the doors.

Starfire gasped. "Beast Boy! He is…"

"Gone," I finished for her with a choked gasp.

"Give me some light," Robin ordered.

"The evidence room," said Cyborg as he shined the light around. "What are we lookin' for?"

"Something that shouldn't be here."

What a description. We followed him to his latest addition and found that it was still there. "Control Freak's remote," I said as Robin picked it up.

"Right where I left it."

Starfire frowned. "But how could he conjure these monsters without his technology?"

"Maybe he had an extra remote," Cyborg suggested. "I mean, we got, like, nine."

Robin shook his head. "I'm starting to think Control Freak doesn't have anything to do with what's been happening."

"Well, whoever _is_ doing it," I said, "they're _not_ gonna scare us."

"Fear," cried Robin. "That's it! The movie, the monsters, Raven's powers—the answer's right in front of us. If Control Freak isn't behind this, it has to be—" Long, green tentacles wrapped themselves around his mouth and body and pulled him into the darkness.

Starfire and I leapt forward and each grabbed one of Robin's arms. The extra tentacles knocked us to the ground, leaving Cyborg alone to try and rescue Robin. He was pushed down as well, just before the tentacles pulled Robin into the wall.

"Robin," cried Cyborg as he pounded the wall with his fist. After he had created a hole, he turned toward us and said, "I don't suppose either of you knew what he was about to say."

We shook our heads. We searched through the Tower and then returned to the living room on Cyborg's orders.

"Robin? Beast Boy?" said Starfire.

"They aren't here," I told them. "We've already looked here."

"We've already looked everywhere," said Cyborg.

"_Almost_ everywhere." There was still _one_ place we hadn't checked yet: the basement.

Starfire clung to Cyborg's arm as we walked down the stairs. When we got to the bottom, she gasped. "Oh well. Our friends are not present, so let us quickly go back up and see if—"

Cyborg frowned. "Not yet. We have to get to the bottom of this."

"This unpleasant room is not the bottom?"

I rolled my eyes and led them through the basement. "Come on."

We took about five steps before Starfire screamed and flung a star bolt at something in the darkness.

"What is it," Cyborg asked.

"The floor," she cried. "I saw something!"

"I didn't," I said. And I hadn't.

Cyborg pressed a button his chest. "Night vision scanners aren't pickin' anything up, either. Let's keep movin'."

Starfire screamed again and threw another star bolt.

"Would you _please_ stop doing that," I asked her. If I was to be afraid of anything down here, it'd be because Starfire kept screaming at nothing. She was bound to give me an anxiety attack. "There's nothing to be afraid of, alright? It's probably just a few rats."

She pointed above us. "Those are not rats!"

Cyborg shone the light on the black creatures with red eyes. "Run! _Run_!"

I did. I ran hard and long, all the way back to the stairs. Behind me, I heard Cyborg and Starfire shooting at the demented rats, but I didn't turn around so that I could look. No, I kept running.

"Hurry," cried Cyborg. "We're almost—"

A scream pierced through the night.

"Starfire," he cried.

I turned, halfway up the stairs, and saw Starfire furiously shooting away at the pile of black rats as they crawled up her body. I could imagine the feel of their padded feet as they met with her bare skin. She disappeared into the floor before Cyborg had a chance to save her.

He felt around the floor, but saw no way to follow her. "Star?"

"No," I whispered as I dropped to the floor beside him.

Cyborg grabbed my arm suddenly and forced me up the stairs.

"Cyborg," I protested. "Cyborg, stop! We should go back! Maybe there's still a way to save her!"

"We won't save anybody if whatever this is gets us too," he shot back. "We have to get out of here and come back with help." He changed his hand into a cannon and led the way through the halls. He stopped me at the corner and checked to make sure it was safe.

I worried about my friends the entire time. Where had the creature taken them? And why did I still remain? The logical thing for the creature to have done would have been to take me out first—I have no access to my powers. Why did it leave me here to watch my friends be taken from me?

That was almost as evil as something I would've done.

Cyborg looked back at me. "We'll get through this, alright? Don't be scared."

I frowned and followed him into the hallway. "For the last time, I am _not_ afraid." I led the way for the next three hallways.

Suddenly the light Cyborg had disappeared.

Annoyed, I turned around and said, "Cyborg, I could use a little more light."

He wasn't there.

"Cyborg?"

Anxiety struck me. I was alone. I hadn't even realized that Cyborg had been taken.

From behind me, a black pterodactyl let out a deafening screech.

I ran. I ran faster than I had ever run before. I heard it crash into the wall behind me, but I didn't stop running. I don't know why I ran to the elevator, but I did. I pressed the button furiously, hoping that this action would somehow make the elevator come and get me faster.

When it finally came, I hurried to get it to close. It barely made it in time. I was thrown back into the wall as the pterodactyl crashed its head into the doors.

The elevator moved, much to my elation. I sighed and looked down. What I saw scared me even more than the pterodactyl. "No," I cried as I tried to lift my feet from the black tar that had begun to fill the elevator. I went under, but I wasn't under for long.

The elevator dropped me off in the living room, and the tar carried me out to the middle of the floor. I stood and tried to run away from the tar. The door I had designated was blocked by the creature from the movie. I turned and chose a different door, only to find that it'd been blocked by the demented rats.

I jumped onto the coffee table to keep them from latching onto my body.

The creature slammed its tentacles into the table, sending me to the floor. I climbed onto the desk, in hopes of being able to get away, but I was forced up against the glass window.

The pterodactyl returned.

"Stay back," I warned them all, hoping that they didn't know that I'd lost my powers. "You don't scare me." Yes they did. "I'm not afraid," I told myself, trying to drive away these thoughts.

The pterodactyl roared in my ears, forcing me to my knees.

"I'm not afraid," I said again. "I'm not afraid." Yes I was. I was afraid. This is what fear felt like. "I _am_ afraid," I told myself. It was true. I was afraid. "I'm afraid, but that doesn't mean I can't fight back," I told the creatures.

They must've realized my new-found confidence, because they took a couple of steps away from me.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" I cried.

A black ball of energy encased all of the creatures and sucked away their dark energy. The energy became a giant black raven that let out a ferocious roar before it was forced back inside of me.

My knees gave out, and I fell to the floor. I saw nothing.

When I awoke, the house was still dark, but my friends were around me.

"Raven," said Robin.

I looked at the group with what I assumed was probably large eyes. "You're all okay?" I took Beast Boy's hand when he offered it to me.

"We were never in any danger."

"Say what," cried Cyborg.

Beast Boy frowned. "Did you not _see_ the monsters?"

"We saw them," said Robin, "but they were never really there. Raven _was_ afraid. But when she wouldn't talk about it, the fear found another way out."

Starfire gasped. "Her powers."

"Once you accepted your fear, you regained control over it," he told me.

Beast Boy scratched his head. "You mean _Raven_ made all those creepy crawlies by accident?"

I blushed. I actually blushed. I was the solution and the problem all along.

Cyborg yawned as the sun peeked its head over the horizon. "Sunrise—time for bed." He, Robin, and Starfire left the room.

"You know," said Beast Boy, "your haunted house was _way_ creepier than that stupid movie. Any chance you'd wanna do all this again for Halloween?"

I smiled at him. "I'm afraid not."

I had learned something today—as I often do with the Titans. I learned that it was alright to be afraid, because _everyone_ gets scared at times. But most importantly, I learned that being afraid doesn't mean I can't fight back.

And I have _almost six months_ to prepare for my fight.


	10. Chapter Nine: Titan Rising

We woke up later that evening to fight against Killer Moth, his daughter Kitten, and her boyfriend Fang. That was probably my most disgusting fight yet. I even experienced a little bit of fear.

Speaking of fear, Starfire had herself a fright last week. It started out with just a simple zit, but then it became worse. She got these tusks on her neck, and these long, dirty nails, and scale-like skin—it was completely different than the way I'm used to seeing Starfire. Beautiful, flawless Starfire. It turns out, all Tamaranians go through that transformation; it's apparently a symbol of when they get new powers. So, long story short, Starfire can shoot beams through her eyes now.

After my revelation of fear, I have been managing it quite well. I even managed to ask Beast Boy if he would like to go with me to my favorite coffee shop. He agreed, and, in return, asked me if I wanted to join them in a game of volleyball.

That's too much. I would not be playing. As a matter of fact, I would be finishing my meditation. I _always _meditate on the roof while the sun sets over the horizon.

Unfortunately, they were also playing volleyball on the roof. All that space down on the shore by the beach, and they had to play up here with me meditating? That sounded like a bad idea already.

"Raven, heads up," cried Beast Boy, interrupting my chant.

I didn't even have to turn my head to know that the ball was headed in my direction. I encased the ball in black energy and sent it straight back to Beast Boy, who grunted.

"Thanks. Uh, good save."

Robin asked me, "Are you _sure_ you don't wanna play, Raven?"

"Yes," cried Starfire, "please, you _must_ volley the ball with us!"

"Come on," said Cyborg. "I'll play you with one hand behind my back!"

I wasn't even sure he could hold his own against me with both of his hands. Still, I didn't want to play, and that couldn't be helped. "I can't. I _have_ to meditate."

Only seconds later, Beast Boy was yelling again, "Heads up, again!"

This time, I didn't save the ball. I moved to the side and let it fall over the edge. Despite their screams for it to stop, it went all the way down to the rocks at the bottom of the shore. Maybe next time they'll think of a better place to play their game.

Beast Boy groaned. "I'll get it."

I was surprised when the ball shot past me and landed at Beast Boy's feet.

He looked at me as if he wondered if I had done it.

His answer floated on a rock above us. I wouldn't mistake that killer combination of blonde hair and blue eyes anywhere. "So," said Terra, "which team am I on?"

She still had the same pair of goggles and lanky body. Her wardrobe, however, had changed since I'd seen her last. She now had on a pair of tight shorts, tennis shoes, and a black long-sleeved crop-top that had a "T" on it.

"Terra," Starfire cried, as if none of us could remember who she was. She raced over to Terra and crushed her in a hug. "Hello, long lost friend. You remember me, yes?"

"Of course, Starfire," said Terra in a strangled voice. "I still have bruises from the _last_ time you hugged me." She managed to slip out from underneath Starfire's arms and turned to face Beast Boy.

Beast Boy looked as if he was about to hug her too, and then he stopped. "Terra, you're—I mean, I—How's it—What's up?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pinched his cheek. Good thing I just recently meditated.

Cyborg smiled at her as he made his way over to her. "Well, if it isn't my favorite little rock-n-roller!"

She high-fived him. "Cyborg, Robin, what's shakin'?"

"Good to see you again," said Robin.

"_Good_," cried Beast Boy. "Is he kidding? It's _great_ to see you again! I didn't think I'd _ever_ see you again!"

I'd _hoped_ that I'd never see her again. She's not exactly at the top of my friend's list—she's not even on the bottom. She's just not on it.

"Raven, wake up," cried Beast Boy, as if I hadn't already noticed that she was here. "Terra's back! Isn't that awesome?"

So much for our coffee date, I guess. I'd probably just given him an idea for a place to take her for a date. "Super," I replied in a voice that was probably laced with acid. "Just help yourself to anything in the fridge, and don't forget to lock the door when you leave."

"Actually," said Terra, "I kinda wasn't plannin' on leavin' this time. I'm ready to take you guys up on your offer. I wanna be a Teen Titan!"

No one said anything.

"Got it. Sorry, I didn't realize the offer had an expiration date."

"The offer didn't expire," said Robin, "we're just…concerned."

"Yeah," said Beast Boy nervously. "It's 'cause…well, um…last time, when you kinda freaked out and ran away, you didn't exactly….uh…you weren't completely—"

Looks like we're beating around the bush again. Once again, it's up to _me_ to tell it straight like it is. "You couldn't control your powers," I said. I walked over to her and crossed my arms. I hadn't realized last time that I was taller than her. Bet she noticed now.

Beast Boy looked between us nervously. I'd be feeling awkward too if I was caught between a love interest of mine and my best friend. Fortunately for Beast Boy, I won't be swayed by my emotions. Witches aren't supposed to have emotions, anyway. That's why they have thoughts. Thoughts don't feel.

"Hello," she cried. "That's why I left! Robin said I needed practice, so I've been practicing! Check it out!" She snapped her goggles onto her eyes and jumped onto the rock that she'd entered on.

I watched her fly around on her rocks. So what if she wasn't close to falling off anymore? It doesn't change anything. Anyone can _act_ like they're in control. I do it all the time.

"Dude," said Beast Boy to me, "she really _has_ gotten better!"

"She learned a few tricks," I told him. "Doesn't mean she's any less dangerous."

She ended her show by jumping down onto the roof with us and crushing the four rocks she'd demonstrated with together.

Everyone else was impressed. I wasn't. I didn't trust her. I didn't think she had earned that yet.

"See," she said to us, though I was sure she was speaking more in my direction. "I've got everything under control."

Suddenly we were distracted by the rumbling of an earthquake.

I glared at Terra.

"Wasn't me," she promised.

Inside, we learned that it actually hadn't been Terra. Lucky for her. That would've been enough for me to refuse her entry into the Titans.

"Earthquakes," said Cyborg. "Small ones, but they're happenin' all over the city!"

Terra put her hands on her hips. "Too many to be natural," she stated.

Robin nodded and said, "That's because they're not earthquakes; they're a trail. Something is moving under the city. We need to find out what. Titans, go!"

Everyone but Robin, Terra, and I went out.

Robin turned toward Terra and said, "Are you coming or not?"

"Does this mean I'm on the team," she asked.

No. "It means we could use your help."

I crossed my arms as she ran past me, causing her to bump into me. A swarm of visions filled my head. I saw Terra talking to Beast Boy as she lost control of her powers; I saw Terra crying in the mining caves as she lost control of her powers again; and I saw Slade on a T-communicator.

I shook my head and looked down.

Robin put his hand on my shoulder. "Everything okay?"

I don't know why I didn't say anything. "Can't tell," I told him. "Are you sure it's safe to have her around?"

"Not entirely, but everyone deserves a second chance."

Do they? I frowned, but followed my team downtown. We couldn't take the T-car because now we had an extra member. Someone would have to fly. This left us in a predicament as to _who_ would have to fly; Starfire wanted to be in the car with Robin, Beast Boy wouldn't let Terra fly because he wanted to be in the car with her, and I didn't want to leave Beast Boy and Terra to themselves. In the end, we didn't use the T-car.

A large mechanical worm with a drill for a head broke through the asphalt, causing a bus to be trapped on a rock near the hole. The worm's drill head became a mechanical face with a mouth and teeth and leaned down toward the bus.

I stretched out my hands and used my dark energy to pull the bus to safety. The worm's head slammed into the ground.

"You missed the bus," said Robin.

Cyborg picked up a taxi and said, "Looks like you'll just have to take a cab!" He tossed the empty car into the monster's face; it pulled its head up into the air after the explosion and roared at us.

It leaned its head down towards Beast Boy with its mouth wide open.

Instinct took over for me. I jumped down in front of him, hands spread out, and said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth—"

"I got it," cried Terra as she knocked me to the ground. With a small battle cry, she raised her hands up, creating a wall of rock to block the worm.

It fell backwards.

I looked around, expecting Beast Boy to help me up, as he usually did, but he had disappeared. Moments later, I saw him crashing into the worm while he was in the form of a green mammoth.

The worm crashed into a nearby building, bringing up a cloud of dust with him. Before the dust could settle, a red beam of light shot out of the worm's mouth and blasted Beast Boy into the air. He landed on the sidewalk in a heap.

"Beast Boy," cried Terra as she ran over to him. She singled out the chunk of rock they were on and lifted it into the air before the worm could strike again.

Starfire and Cyborg distracted the worm by shooting it continuously.

"Good work, Terra," said Robin as she and Beast Boy joined us again. "Now, help me get in its face!"

She nodded and lifted a series of rocks so that they acted like a staircase for Robin.

He jumped up each of them and threw his exploding devices into the worm's open mouth. As he started to fall to the ground, Starfire caught him and brought him to safety.

The worm expanded as the devices exploded in its mouth, but it was defeated. It chomped its teeth down in an effort to bite Cyborg as a green pterodactyl carried him close to its face.

Robin jumped off of the building and used his grappling hook to latch onto the worm's mouth. He swung onto the worm's back and inserted his metal staff in a small opening the worm's back. When the staff broke off, the worm roared and tried to buck Robin off.

Cyborg, who was now riding a green stegosaurus, aimed his cannon at the worm and blasted its bottom while the stegosaurus rammed its horns into it. It obviously proved to be a bad idea for the stegosaurus, because it retreated quickly.

Terra lifted a rock above her head that could've easily have crushed the bus I had carried off. What was she thinking?

"No," I cried as I stopped her powers with my own.

"What are you doing," she asked me as she struggled to overpower me.

"It's too dangerous," I told her. "Someone could get hurt." I pulled the rock away from her, but she managed to stop it before it had gotten to me.

"I know what I'm doing. Trust me!"

Trust her? She's given me no reason to trust her? Did she just expect it to come when she surprisingly joined the team? I didn't trust her the _first_ time she came around, let alone _now_.

But I wasn't about to let her hurt my friends. I stood my ground against her, though she did put up a bit of a fight for me.

"Look out," cried Robin.

A blast of red light destroyed the rock we fought over and threw me into the building behind me. When I got to my feet, I immediately found my way over to Terra.

"Way to go," we told each other.

"Come on," said Robin. "It's getting away!"

Sure enough, the worm was digging another tunnel underneath the city. We followed it to the hole and stopped as we anticipated what to do next.

Robin's T-communicator began to beep. He opened it and revealed Slade's face. He had a new mask in place of his old one, but there would be no mistaking him.

My heart faltered. My vision. How had I been right? I wondered if my other visions somehow had a connection to this one.

"Slade," Robin growled.

"Robin," said Slade in a tantalizing voice. "Good to see you again. I do hope I haven't called at a bad time."

"The worm. What are you planning?"

"Well, now, Robin, if you're so very curious, why don't you come down here and find out?" His transmission cut out.

Despite my hesitations, we did as Slade suggested. It was a long time before we couldn't see the surface again, and I doubted we were anywhere close to finding the end of its tunnel.

"That evil worm has left a very long trail," said Starfire. "This tunnel continues for at least two more klinthorgs."

"And we're more than three hundred meters below sea-level," said Cyborg. "What's it _doin'_ down here?"

"Whatever Slade tells it to," said Robin.

Beast Boy was telling Terra something. She looked back at me and then tried to start a conversation. "So, sorry about our little tug of war back there. You know I wouldn't have let anybody get hurt."

Beast Boy probably told her to apologize to me. Can't have his best friend and his love interest at odds, now, can he? "Whatever," I told her. I wasn't about to become friends with her just so that Beast Boy wouldn't be inconvenienced.

All of her politeness melted away. "Okay, look. I don't know what your problem is, but get over it! If I'm gonna be a part of this team, we _have_ to get along."

"You're _not_ part of this team," I told her. "Not yet. And if you endanger my friends again, you _never_ will be. The next time I tell you something's too dangerous, _take my word for it_!" I left her stunned and confused at my words. I watched as Beast Boy went back to say something else to her. Great.

I stayed by Starfire and Cyborg the rest of the trip down. I refused to be anywhere near Beast Boy, and I didn't want to talk to Robin about it. When we got to the bottom, there were no other tunnels that led out of the large room.

"Dead end," I said.

Robin's T-communicator was still beeping. "Not necessarily," he said. He followed it to the other side of the cave and held it up when it beeped continuously. "I'm picking up a signal from deep inside the rock."

"Way deep," said Cyborg. "Electronics and a heartbeat."

"Slade," Robin confirmed.

"How 'bout we dig down there and see what's up," said Terra. She held up her glowing yellow hands to the rock Robin was in front of, but stopped as another earthquake struck us.

I found myself glaring at her again.

She glared back at me. Her face wasn't nearly as scary as mine probably was. "Are you gonna give me that look _every _time there's an earthquake?"

Three mechanical worms burst from underneath the ground around us.

"Titans, ready," cried Robin.

The worms passed over us and dug through the earth so that they could continue down their paths.

"Hello,"  
cried Beast Boy as he stepped into one of their tunnels, "the good guys are over here! Dude, we got snubbed!"

"Because we are not their target," said Starfire.

Cyborg said, "Three of those worms together could wreck anything in the city."

"We have to stop 'em," cried Terra.

"We have to stop _Slade_," I corrected. He was bound to have the control for them somewhere.

"Split up," said Robin. "Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy—go after the worms. Terra and Raven, we're going after Slade."

Cyborg nodded. "Star, BB, let's move!" They hurried after the worms through one of the tunnels. Beast Boy through one last look at Terra before he disappeared.

"I can make a tunnel on my own," said Terra. "Shouldn't she go with—"

"No," said Robin firmly. "Raven's almost as good at moving earth as you are." It's only _almost_ because my powers extend to _far_ further things than a bunch of pebbles. "We're digging through solid rock. I'm going to need you _both_."

"Nice try," I told her with a smile. It'll take a _lot_ to get rid of me.

"I've got a fix on the signal: forty degrees down, six hundred meters deep."

We raised our hands together and said, "No problem." It was weird, seeing someone else's hands glow—someone else besides Starfire, that is.

"Is that as fast as you can go," she asked me.

"Not even _close_," I growled. Her tactic was idiotic. She was moving the rocks further down, while I was moving the rocks away from the rest of the pile I needed to move. She _was_ going faster than me, though.

For now, at least. I hadn't used my secret weapon yet: my emotions. I thought about the anger I felt toward her being here, the jealousy I felt toward the attention Beast Boy was giving her, but most of all, I thought about the intense feeling of distrust that settled within me every time I looked at her.

I pushed ahead of her and reached the end of the tunnel first.

Robin sprinted ahead of me and Terra and looked inside the room. I knew that amongst the technology and construction columns, he was looking for Slade. He headed over to the computer as it emitted a projection of a building that was sinking under.

I pointed to the circle of energy above us as it begun to spin and emitted red lights through the ceiling.

From our T-communicators, I heard Cyborg's voice: "Robin! It's the Tower! They're attacking Titans' Tower!"

"It's not just under attack," said Robin. "It's about to be _underground_."

Robin tried throwing some of his devices; I tried throwing blasts of dark energy; Terra tried throwing rocks. Nothing worked.

"Not even a scratch," Robin cried. He hurried back to the computer. "If we can't break the drill, hacking this computer's out only shot at shutting it down." Suddenly, he was knocked backward as Slade kicked him in his face. They engaged in battle almost immediately as Slade drove Robin away from the computer.

"Robin," I yelled as I raced after him.

"Hang on," Terra shouted.

"Forget about me," said Robin as he was forced onto an elevator. "Shut down the drill!" He and Slade were lifted into the air.

"Looks like it's just you and me," said Terra.

I ignored her and looked up at the drill as some of the rocks began to shake loose. "We have to hack in." I hurried back to the computer.

"Why hack when you can smash," said Terra as she lifted a large rock into the air.

Was this girl an idiot? "No," I told her as I stopped the rock in its place. "We don't know how this thing works. If you destroy the controls, then we might _never_ be able to stop it."

"Or we might stop it sooner and save our home! Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because you don't deserve it," I told her angrily. "I have to meditate _every day_ to keep my powers under control, and I'm supposed to believe that you can just _suddenly_ control yours? Trust is something you have to _earn_."

"How? How do I earn it?"

"You can start by trusting me."

She dropped her hold on the rock, and I dropped the rock and returned to the computer. I barely managed to reach the keyboard before another large rock fell from the ceiling and crushed the computer.

The drill increased its power tenfold and spun even faster than before.

"Okay," said Terra, "maybe smashing the computer _was_ a bad idea."

Idiot! All the time she wasted trying to fight me for her stupid idea has now cost us precious time that could've been used to save my friends. If our home goes down, I'll never forgive her.

It started to sink down on our heads. Despair filled me. "We have to go. There's nothing we can do now."

Terra's eyes glowed yellow. "Yes, there is! Trust me!"

Idiot girl! Nothing she does now could possibly earn my trust now. No matter what, I'll still hate her in the end.

She lifted her glowing hands up and pushed against the island as it began to sink down. Her force caused the drills to break off and tumble to the ground around us. Though she was enough to stop the drill, she wasn't enough to stop the island from sinking.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" I cried as I joined forces with her to help save our home. As my power merged with hers in convergence, my head was filled with pictures again.

This time I saw pictures of the Tower being attacked, pictures of Terra turning against us, and pictures of me being buried underneath mud.

When the pictures ended, I realized that we had won. We had managed to save our home. Together. I looked up and saw Robin standing above us with a smile on his face.

Well played, Robin. Well played.

We returned to the Tower to the cheering of our friends. I left them and made my way back to my room. Standing in front of my door was Robin.

"It seems like you two work well together," he said with a smile.

I shrugged. "We had a common cause," I told him.

"Raven, I won't let her on the team without your permission, too. If you don't want her here, say the word."

I could've done it. I could've gotten rid of her. But if I had, then my tale would've been different. Instead, I made a mistake: "She can stay."

A few hours later, I was sent to bring Terra to her surprise.

She followed me down the hallway cautiously. "So…friends?"

No. Never. I will _never_ call you my friend. "Close enough," I lied.

"Sorry we kinda got off to a rocky start."

I was _really_ starting to hate her puns. "Actually, I thought things went pretty well," I lied again. "Took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy." Another lie. I haven't been here a year. I still have _almost six months_ to go. I laughed along with her, as if we had something to laugh about.

I led her into the dark room.

"Um," she said, "where are we?"

"Your room." I flipped on the light, revealing the other Titans as they jumped out their hiding places.

"Surprise," they cried.

"You guys did all this…for _me_," Terra asked.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy, "since you helped save our home and all, we thought you deserved your own room."

"You also deserve one of these," said Robin as he handed her a T-communicator.

She held it in her hands. "So I'm—"

"A Teen Titan. Glad to have you on the team."

"Aw, yeah," said Cyborg. "Very nice!"

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me," Beast Boy whispered to me.

"Welcome new Titan," cried Starfire.

"Congratulations, Terra. You earned it," I choked out, though I was far from wanting to say that to her.

Cyborg smiled. "Alright. There's only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion—waffles!"

I didn't join the Titans. I didn't join Terra.

I don't _trust_ Terra.

_**A/N: I've yet to decide if I should end it in Season 4 with "The End" (where we all know Raven goes through the end of the world with Trigon) or if I should continue her story all the way through Season 5. Any thoughts?**_


	11. Chapter Ten: Betrayal

I was getting sick of Terra being here. _Every day for a week_, Beast Boy came to me and asked me for advice on how he should ask out Terra. The first few days, I ignored him; but it got to the point when I couldn't even do that anymore.

I finally told him the most cliché piece of advice anyone could've given him. The kind of advice, you'd _expect_ to find in a normal novel: _trust your heart_. I know. What's a wicked girl like me have any business giving advice like that? Well, she has a right when she's trying to keep a guy she _may_ have taken a liking for from ending up with a wicked girl such as herself.

I was starting to even dread the times when we went out on missions to stop the bad guys. Terra saved Beast Boy or Beast Boy saved Terra, but in the end, he always ended up at _my_ door asking for advice again. It was a cycle, and I wanted it to stop.

Life isn't fair, though. I don't get the things I want just because I wish for them.

Today was no different. Once again, we were stopping Slade's drones from stealing. This time, though, we were out on the edge of the city.

"Tell Slade the Titans have a message for him," said Robin.

"Eat dirt," cried Terra as she slammed large rocks into our opponents.

"Titans, go!"

I lifted a large rock into the air and threw it toward Terra. At first, I hoped it would hit her—then I realized we were on the same team. "Terra, catch," I cried at the last moment. To my dismay—and relief—she caught it and used it to crush more drones.

"Thanks a ton," she told me as I floated up to her.

"Closer to _two_ tons, actually," I replied, playing along with the joke. I was saved from having to speak to her any more as a drone blasted me with a laser. I was thrown backwards onto the ground.

As always, Terra was thrown to the ground too. As drones closed in on her, I waited for Beast Boy to appear. Beast Boy appeared in the form of a gorilla just as I shielded myself from one of the drones' attack. He guarded Terra faithfully and picked her up in his arms. He morphed back into his human form as I struggled against two of the drones.

"You saved me," she said, enraging me. Doesn't he _always_? It's not a surprise, Terra.

I freed myself from a drone's grip.

Beast Boy smiled. "Yeah, that was cool."

I lifted the drones into the air.

"Uh, Beast Boy, you can put me down now."

Great idea. I threw them her way but made sure that I missed. It was enough to bring Beast Boy back to reality. He rejoined the fight and helped me fight against a group of drones.

I floated into the air and said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Black rings of energy exploded from my fingers and wrapped around the drones. When it had encased their entire bodies, it broke them apart. It was violent for me, but I was not in my best mood anyway.

After the fight, we did what we _always_ did—return to the Tower and eat pizza.

Terra got the last slice.

"Seriously, Terra," said Robin, "great job tonight. We're glad to have you on the team."

"And we are most mirthful to reclaim you as our friend!" cried Starfire.

"Yeah," I said. "What they say."

"Thanks, guys," she said as she scratched her arm. "Really, for everything. But you shouldn't—I'm just doin' my job, you know? No big deal."

"Well it's a big deal to _us_," said Beast Boy. "Good friends don't come along every day, ya know?"

Cyborg set the alarm and yawned. "Alright, y'all, Titans' Tower is locked up and Cyborg's shuttin' down."

"We should all get some sleep," said Robin. "We may have stopped Slade tonight, but we need to figure out what he's planning tomorrow."

"Night," I said to them all as I left the room. I didn't wait to hear Beast Boy wish Terra a good night.

It wasn't long before Beast Boy came to me, looking for advice. "What is it _now_?" I asked him, annoyed.

"When you said that I should trust my heart, how am I supposed to do that, exactly?"

I sighed. What's the point of giving people good, sound advice, if they don't _follow_ it? "When you see Terra, what do feel?" Why would I ask him that? I didn't want the answer. Yes I did. I wanted to know so that I could compare myself to her.

"I want her to be happy. I want to see her smile." He looked down. "I want to _make_ her smile. Think you could help me make something for her?"

"No," I told him. When I saw his dismayed face, I quickly added, "Anything you give to her needs to come from _you_ and you alone."

"You think so?"

"If a boy was to give something to me, I'd want to know it was only _his_ work." I didn't tell him who the boy was.

He disappeared and then moments later, came back with a handful of supplies.

"Isn't there someone else's room you can be in while you do this," I asked.

"I'd rather be in yours," he said. He said it under his breath, as if he wouldn't mind if I pretended not to hear him.

I frowned.

"Don't frown; you'll spoil your looks."

"Don't patronize me," I warned him.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He smiled at me. "Wanna hear a joke?"

"No."

He told it to me anyway. "So I knew this one guy who couldn't make up his mind…so he put _lipstick on his forehead_!" Beast Boy's cackling laughter broke through the air, just as it always did after a joke.

I didn't laugh. Somehow I sensed a more personal connection to his joke. "Don't you usually tell knock-knock jokes or why did something do whatever?"

He looked away from me and stopped laughing. "I've been trying to switch it up lately. You said I was funny once."

"My _emoticlone_ said that you were funny," I corrected.

"But she's a part of _you_, isn't she?"

I stopped tossing answers back like footballs. "Yeah, well, I may have changed my mind about you."

"Come on, admit it, Raven." He smiled again. "You think I'm hilarious."

"I don't; I hate your jokes," I said with brittle cheer.

"Then why do you listen to them?"

I frowned at him. "So why couldn't the guy make up his mind?"

"I dunno," Beast Boy said with a shrug. "Maybe he was stupid or something."

"Not stupid," I told him. "Maybe it was just a hard decision, and your joke isn't giving him enough credit."

He stared at me for what seemed like forever—it was probably no longer than a few seconds—and gave me a knowing smile. "You don't know him like I do."

"I could," I whispered.

His smile widened as he turned back to his work. "I'll introduce you to him one day."

"I'll make sure he isn't faced with any decisions. I wouldn't want him to be put in a difficult situation."

"That's probably for the best."

The moment was ruined when Beast Boy turned around and showed me his artwork. It was beautiful—I actually _desired_ it. It was heart-shaped jewelry box with a mirror and a _ton_ of glitter on it.

"What do you think," he asked me.

I arched an eyebrow and tried to keep a passive face. "I think you went a little overboard with the glitter."

He smiled nervously. "I guess so. Think she'll like it?"

"Trust you heart." I opened the door with my powers and motioned for him to follow it.

"But what if she doesn't? Then I can't ask her out. Should I ask her out before or after—"

"_Trust your heart_," I growled before shutting him out of the room. I pulled the covers up to my chin again and listened to the sound of his footsteps receding.

My witchy heart wrenched in its place. Who was this green child that had the power to do these things to me?

If witches could feel, I might be fascinated.

Of course, there are many things that fascinate me. Art, history, philosophy—but those are merely matters of interest, and thus can cause no harm. No, fascination is something else entirely. Interest can't make me weak in the knees, can't make me want to understand something so badly that it threatened my control.

_He_ is fascinating.

His is a bundle of contradictions. He's lazy when it comes to his responsibilities, but astoundingly industrious when it comes to pranks or getting people to smile; he's strong when the situation demands it, but weak when things aren't as dire; he's funny when he isn't trying to be, and uncouth when he is.

If witches could feel, it might've been frustrating for me. People aren't supposed to be puzzles for _me_. I'm an empath. I can peer into their minds, feel their emotions, know what their greatest fears and weaknesses are.

But my powers only make this puzzle even more complex. Instead of putting the pieces together, it drifts them further apart.

Perhaps I've merely been making things seem more complicated than they really are. Still, I cannot deny that he is overwhelming, like a pregnant sun beating down on me on a hot, summer day.

It isn't that I don't know what he feels—to the contrary, his emotions constantly enervating bombard me—it's _why_ he feels them. _Why_ is he always so happy and cheerful? _Why_ the rampant curiosity? _Why_ does he want to prove himself?

_Why_ does he feel all these things around _me_?

I shouldn't allow myself to think of him that way. He is a teammate, an extra source of relief and support on the battlefield. I can't _afford_ to think of _anybody_ like this. A crevice of weakness in my control would swiftly widen to a chasm.

And yet, he's been in my head all the time.

He's such a persistent boy. Such a stubborn, reckless, beautiful boy, caught in the gracefulness of his journey to becoming a man.

If witches could feel, I might consider this boy-man handsome.

It's there, beneath his childish features and the innocent gleam of emerald eyes. It's even in his voice, where his usually cracked tone would betray a husk that lay dormant in youthful adolescence. It was in his posture. It was in the fang that never ceased to protrude from his mouth.

He is the culmination of every repulsive desire and false hope I've ever considered.

It's why I can't let him in. It would be thrilling and adventurous. Worst of all, it would make me happy.

And I don't deserve that.

The prophecy, my father's blood, years of psychological conditioning as a child in Azarath—it cannot all be undone by a mere boy.

And so, without feeling anything, I decided that it is probably best if he stays with Terra; a girl who _can_ feel for him.

But the most witchy heart-wrenching truth is that, if I _could_ feel something, it might have been for him.

If witches could feel, I might be in love with him.

I drifted into sleep, where I am allowed to feel. Where I can pretend I am anything. Where I have my own world. A world where I am not Raven the witch child.

A world where I am Rachel. Rachel Roth.

I was wrenched away from my world.

An explosion on the other side of the Tower drew me to my feet. I slipped my cloak on and ran to the living room, only to find Cyborg struggling against some of Slade's drones. I didn't stop to ask how they had gotten into the Tower. I was only concerned with one thing: helping out my teammate.

I used my dark energy to remove the drones from Cyborg, giving him a little more space to breathe. "Are you okay?" I asked him with my back to his. I flung two drones into our living room wall.

"Yeah," he grunted. He used his body to shield mine as the wall behind us exploded and Robin fell through it. "Robin!"

"Cyborg," cried Robin as he picked himself up and tripped a drone with his metal staff. "What happened?"

"I don't know," said Cyborg as he blasted a group of drones.

Starfire flew over us, attacking the creatures with her eyes. She helped Robin get out of harm's way when the drones proved to be too much for him.

Cyborg threw a drone off of him and knocked its head off with one punch.

As I continued to fight my group of drones, I wondered how they had all gotten into the Tower without any of us knowing. All at once it hit me. Struck me, really.

Terra. I ducked underneath a drone. It was her—I know it was her. I _know_ it was her! I gasped suddenly as a drone blasted us all through another wall. I coughed as I got to my feet.

"Raven," said Robin as he helped me find shelter behind a large chunk of the wall. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I coughed again as dust entered my lungs. "Where's Beast Boy?"

He must've realized that we were missing a teammate—two, really, if you included Terra—because he looked around. When he didn't see Beast Boy, he pulled out his T-communicator. "Beast Boy, come in!"

Another explosion. The drones were closing in on our shelter with their laser blasters.

"Beast Boy, where are you? Answer me!" Robin abandoned the wall and avoided the lasers as he ran and jumped down onto the level below. He brought three of the drones down before they could even respond.

As much as I wanted to go after Beast Boy, I realized that I was needed with my team. I flew forward and grabbed Robin before he could be hit with one of the blasters. As I headed toward the corner of the hallway, Starfire and Cyborg blasted the drones behind me.

"He's not responding," Robin told the rest of the team.

I looked behind me and realized that our newest teammate's room was empty. "And _Terra's_ not in her room."

"Somebody wanna explain how _two hundred_ _armed robots_ got past _my_ security," cried Cyborg. He opened a panel on the ground and stuck his finger in it to do some repairs. His body shook as bolts of electricity kept him entering. "Can't even access the computer! We're locked out!"

"They are too numerous to fight," cried Starfire. "What should we do?"

"We fight anyway," said Robin with a glare. "Titans, go!" He raced forward and jumped onto the faces of two drones, knocking them down. When he landed, he threw a device into the head of another one, decapitating it.

Cyborg punched through a line of drones with ease. They didn't put up much of a fight against him as they fell to the floor for him to crush underneath his feet.

Starfire shot her star bolts from her hands and eyes. With her new powers, she was probably much harder to defeat.

As for me? I had my emotions. The emotions I wasn't supposed to feel. I flung one drone to the side and cried, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Black darts of energy shot from my fingertips and crashed through the chests of ten drones. It removed the mechanism that served as their heart, and they fell to the floor.

Suddenly, a swarm of them came flooding out of my room.

Anger boiled within me. After the events of tonight, I _needed_ something to use as an outlet. "That's _my_ room," I told them as I raised my hands and crushed the hordes in between the walls leading up to my room. "_Nobody_ goes in my room." As if the wall trick wasn't enough, I made the floor cave in underneath them.

Unfortunately for me, Cyborg fell along with them. I managed to catch him before he hit the ground. I joined him in the training room below us and helped him fight off the horde I had sent down here.

"Don't know how you guys got in," he growled, "but I know how you're gettin' _out_!" He punched through one of the drone's chests completely and ripped out its heart mechanism.

Suddenly, Starfire was tackled to the ground by a group of drones. I started to help her, but stopped as she sent out a flurry of green star bolts. I didn't want to be caught up in that. With a loud battle cry, she encased her entire body in a green star bolt, sending all of her opponents to the ground.

Above me, Robin kept a group of drones from hacking our computer any further.

I shouldn't have been distracted. I was blasted into the next room because I hadn't been paying attention. Before I could get up, a drone lifted me over his head and tossed me into the darkness.

A pair of strong—hairy?—arms folded around me, protecting me from the fall. Even before he moved into the light, I knew who it was.

Beast Boy.

In his gorilla form, he set me down and began to tear through the group of drones in the training room. With his help, we managed to defeat all the drones in the Tower just after sunrise. The Tower had taken maximum damage, and the people inside were pretty damaged as well.

After the fight, Beast Boy didn't stay around to clean up. For once, _he_ was the one who retreated to the comfort of his room.

"Well," said Cyborg solemnly as he tossed a drone's head aside. "Looks like we won."

"Then why does it not feel like a victory," Starfire asked.

I was so angry that I accidentally bit down on my tongue. Blood filled my mouth, but I didn't spit it out. No, I let it fester inside me, feeding my anger. "I knew it. I _knew_ it," I declared. "We _never_ should have trusted her."

"But we did," said Robin. "We all did."

Not all of us. Some of us were smart. Some of us knew better than to trust her. Some of us should've warned the others not to trust her. Some of us should've refused her position on the team. Some of us made a mistake.

Cyborg's chest beeped. "I've regained access to the computer. Security codes and encryption strings have all been reset."

"And all enemy surveillance technology has been located and destroyed," said Starfire.

And that was supposed to make it better? As if resetting a few codes and destroying a couple of hidden cameras changed anything. "Problem is, Terra gave Slade more than secret codes and hidden cameras! She gave him _us_. Our _flaws_. Our _weaknesses_. _Everything_ he'd ever need to know."

"It doesn't matter," said Robin. "When Slade makes his next move, we'll be ready."

Yes, Robin. Because _that_ will make it all better. Let's ignore the fact that we'll probably lose because of Slade's new information. Let's forget that the majority of our team has been hurt by Terra's betrayal. Let's forget that one member _specifically_ has been hurt by Terra's betrayal.

"And Beast Boy," said Cyborg.

Starfire looked up at Robin to give her a good and happy answer. There was none that he could give her—not without lying at least. "He will be…alright?"

"He just needs a little time."

The sound of a dog whimpering reached my ears. It doesn't matter how much time he's given.

He will _never_ be "alright".

And it's all my fault.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Aftershock

The window that Cyborg had left rolled down in the T-car caused an unnatural wind to whip across my face.

That unnatural wind—think about that, Raven. Think about anything rather than what you're thinking about, which you mustn't name, because then you'll think about it.

The unnatural wind is a perfect memory to stuff into your mind. It will make you remember you hurt Beast Boy. It will make you remember Terra, and the jewelry box, and the cries of a dog through the night—those heart-wrenching cries that had only stopped two nights ago.

You must remember so you can hate yourself. It's been a week, but you mustn't let yourself forget what you owe Beast Boy.

"Okay, okay, I got one," said Beast Boy, drawing me out of my thoughts. For some reason, he'd chosen to sit in between me and Starfire today while Robin rode shotgun. I wish I'd chosen to ride shotgun. "Why are ducks so funny?" He paused for but a moment to let the question settle in. "Because they're always _quackin'_ jokes!" He roared with laughter, but no one joined him.

"Pull over," I told Cyborg. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Oh, I see," cried Starfire. "It is humorous because ducks lack the large brain necessary for the telling of jokes!"

"Actually, Starfire," said Robin, "it just wasn't humorous."

I nodded and stared out the window. "Because _Beast Boy_ lacks the large brain necessary for telling jokes."

"Come on, Raven, you know I'm hilarious," said Beast Boy as he leaned into my face. He crossed his arms, drawing him closer. "And I'm not gonna give up until I get you to smile."

Good luck with that. He doesn't know about the promise I made to myself. He doesn't know I can't humor him. He doesn't know that I can't give in to my emotions. I don't deserve to. He deserves better.

"Okay," he said with a smile. "Why did the aardvark cross the road?"

We pulled up to a stoplight.

"To beat up the idiot telling jokes about him?"

Cyborg and Robin started to laugh.

"Now _that's_ funny," said Robin.

"Please," Starfire asked, "an aardvark is some form of duck?"

We sighed. Sometimes there's no point in telling Starfire the truth. It's best to let her be oblivious. Besides, it's not like she'll ever need to know the truth about _that_.

The light turned green.

We didn't make it across the intersection.

A large rock slammed into the T-car, flipping us over in the process.

I have never been in a car accident before. I've seen them on shows and movies, but I have never personally experienced it.

Time slows down. Details become obvious. Cyborg clutched the steering wheel; Robin held onto his seatbelt; Starfire hid her face behind her hands; Beast Boy crunched at my hand. We landed right-side up.

"That hurts!" I told Beast Boy.

"Sorry!" Beast Boy let go at once.

"Is everybody okay," Robin asked, loudly, as though we weren't all still in the same car with him. I checked; we were.

We climbed out the car with a united groan. It took me a moment to keep my head from spinning any longer.

"Terra," said Beast Boy.

That snapped me back to reality. She was back?

She _was_ back. And she had changed outfits again. She had bolts shooting out of her head that reminded me of Frankenstein, and she was clothed in a metal bodysuit that had Slade's emblem on it.

"Hey, guys," she said with a sick smile. "Miss me?" She shot rocks at the car, causing us to run away from it. The rocks created a large dent in the right side of the car. Cyborg would be upset. When she ran out pebbles to throw, she picked up a large rock and slammed it onto the hood. The car exploded underneath it. There goes Cyborg's "baby".

It was nothing like an explosion in the movies. When _this_ car exploded, it went up with a poof! and that was the end of it. Life is less exciting than stories.

Terra lifted herself up on a rock above us.

"Titans, go," cried Robin, as if we needed any instruction as to when we were supposed to be fighting the enemy.

She opened the ground and made a pillar of dirt shoot up. Robin crashed so hard into it that it made the pillar shatter. He didn't move. From the hole, she picked up a rock and tossed it into Starfire, and trapped her underneath it.

Cyborg aimed his cannon at her and fired, but only managed to break off a small chunk of the rock she was flying on. She threw it back into him.

Beast Boy flew up and barely managed to get a foothold on her rock. When he climbed up to her level, he said, "Terra, stop! We're your friends!"

"I don't have any friends, remember," she said bitterly before she punched him off of her rock.

Starfire freed herself from underneath the rock and caught Beast Boy before I could. I was grateful that she had caught him, even if I did wish that it had been _me_ who'd done it.

Beast Boy, however, was not Terra's target—Robin was.

As he struggled to pick himself off the ground, Terra lifted two large rocks over his head.

I refused to watch my friend's skull be crushed—at least in this way. I lifted the rock from the T-car and held it over her. "Don't make me hurt you," I warned, hoping it would make her back off.

It didn't.

"Don't make me _laugh_," she shot back. Terra had never been stronger than me before, but she was definitely stronger now. She broke my control with ease and sent it flying toward me.

I tried to run from it, but I was thrown into a streetlight, and then tossed to the ground by its explosion at my feet. I looked up as a large rock hovered me, sure that it was my time.

At the last second, Starfire ducked underneath it and lifted it over her head. From behind her, Beast Boy came charging forward to help me up. We watched Starfire as she gave Terra a piece of her own medicine.

Terra sent the rock back to Starfire, who blasted it with her star bolts. Then, before the dust could settle, she blasted Terra with her eyes.

Terra flew backwards, into the pillar of rocks she'd created earlier, and slumped down, unconscious.

Starfire flew over to her with a sad face. "Terra," she said as she reached down to pick up the girl.

Idiot. Why would she do that? I wanted to warn her before Terra opened her eyes, revealing the ruse, but I didn't have the chance.

"You always were easy to fool," said Terra before she brought up another pillar of rocks, sending Starfire into the air. Terra stood up and dusted herself off.

Cyborg aimed his cannon at her.

Terra let out a groan and brought her hands to her chest. Two giant rock monsters rose form the asphalt and made their way toward us.

"That's a new trick," I noted. Since when could Terra do _that_?

They were hard to fight because they could travel through the ground underneath us just as easily as we could blink. Plus, they could regenerate their limbs and spewed sewer water at us every chance they got.

Robin said something I'd never heard him say before: "Titans, fall back!" He threw smoke bombs onto the ground, and rounded us up. "You heard me! Fall back!"

Beast Boy took a moment to join our circle. When he finally did, I encased the team in a ball of black energy and hurried to the Tower. It was no secret that we were going there, but it would probably be best if we had a head start against our enemies.

We stayed by the door, the first place that we thought they would come through if we were to be attacked at the Tower.

I took the first shift and guarding the entrance. I crossed my arms and gave my contribution to the silence in the room. The only sound that could be heard was Cyborg as he picked pieces of dirt out of his systems.

He sighed heavily. "I should've blasted her when I had the chance."

"I should've hit her with everything I've got," I growled.

Starfire frowned. "Why did I permit her to fool me again?"

Even Robin seemed a little down. "Why couldn't we take her down just like any other criminal?"

"Because," said Beast Boy, "she's not just another criminal. She's _Terra_. She was a Titan. She was our friend."

That did it for me. "Terra was _never_ our friend," I told him angrily. "She was a liar and a spy. Trained by Slade and sent to _destroy_ us. She's _evil_; always has been, always will be." When it comes to detecting evil in others, I am an expert. As I should be. After all, I am wicked.

Beast Boy turned on me, and for once, I actually saw him angry. "You don't know what you're talking about, okay, Raven? She's made some serious mistakes, but she's not—"

"Hey, man," said Cyborg. "Girl wrecked my _car_. Seems pretty evil to me."

Beast Boy lifted the coffee table and threw it into the wall behind him. "This isn't a joke! I knew her better than _anyone_! I know all the terrible things she's done, and I know exactly how messed up she is, but she's not evil! We can't just give up on her."

I frowned. _He_ has no idea what he's talking about. He hasn't _seen_ evil—hasn't tasted it, hasn't tempted it, hasn't been consumed by it. What would _he_ know about evil?

Robin stepped forward. "Beast Boy, she's working for _Slade_."

"When _you_ were working for Slade, did we give up on _you_?"

That was different. Terra isn't being blackmailed. Terra doesn't care about our lives—she tried to end it. Terra made the decision on her _own_ to betray us.

"She gets _one_ last chance," said Robin. "_One_. We have to break Slade's grip on her. We have to try to get Terra back."

I don't want her back. I don't know why he's pretending that he wants her back either.

"Trouble," cried Starfire suddenly as the alarm started to go off.

We hurried to the living room and learned that Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload had been sprung from jail. Thanks to Terra, of course.

"We got three escaped criminals attacking three separate targets," said Robin. "Whatever Slade's doing, we have to split up and stop him."

"Robin and I shall defeat Cinderblock," said Starfire.

"Raven and I can take on Overload," said Beast Boy.

"No," I said suddenly, drawing their attention. "_I_ can deal with Overload." He seemed shocked at the fact that I didn't want to go with him. Why was he surprised? He should've seen this coming.

Cyborg shrugged off my comment. "Beast Boy and I'll take Plasmus."

"What about Terra," said Beast Boy.

Robin said, "We'll have to worry about _her_ when this is over."

I turned and started to leave.

Beast Boy followed me. "Hey, Raven! Hey," he cried as he realized that I wasn't about to stop for him. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said what I did."

No, you shouldn't have. But there's no going back and changing it now. "Shouldn't you be with Cyborg right now?"

"Raven, come on, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean to say any of that."

"You _did_ say it." I struggled to keep my voice from wavering.

"Come on, Raven! It was an _accident_—a mistake!"

"You seem to make a lot of those, don't you?"

"You can't stay mad at me forever!"

Watch me. I can, and I _will_.

"Raven, come on." His voice cracked, as it often did when he was filled with emotion. He needs to learn to hide it better, like I do.

"Leave me alone."

He grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks. "Tell me you hate me, _then_ I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you anymore if you can honestly tell me that you hate me, Raven."

I tried to get away from him, but he wouldn't budge. "Let go of me."

"Just tell me the truth! At least Terra was straight with me!"

I spun around. "Terra was _never_ straight with you. If she had been, she would've told you from the start that she came back to spy on us—to spy on _you_. Don't _ever_ compare me to her!"

He held my gaze. "Tell me the truth. Tell me you hate me, and I'll leave you alone."

Fine. "_I hate you_," I said through gritted teeth, my voice laced with acid. I hope it hurt him as much as it hurt me.

From the looks of his face, it did. "Raven," he whispered, barely audible above the silence in the hallway.

"Now leave me alone and go join Cyborg," I told him before disappearing through the wall.

I didn't cry. I didn't _dare_ cry. Why cry when it was my fault? He asked for me to say it, but I hadn't been forced to comply. Not only did I lie to him, I also lied to myself. And I have hurt him again.

All because I was selfish. I wanted him to hurt as much as I did. And so, I had said the only words that I knew would bring him down.

And I lied. But it seems to me that lying is becoming more natural for me.

Witches always lie.

I don't even know where I went. I followed Overload's trail until it brought me to a factory. The scared workers ran outside. Good. That meant that it would just be me, Overload, and my non-witchy emotions.

I encompassed the entire factory with dark energy and appeared before the electric being. "So, Overload," I said in a voice that wasn't mine. This one was empty, it had no feeling behind it. "Think you can handle a total blackout?"

I shielded myself from his attack and pushed him backwards. He dodged my blasts of energy and traveled through the walls to avoid any further attacks.

I was suddenly struck from behind and fell forward. I quickly turned around and faced Overload as I said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

He broke through my ball of energy and tried to grab me. I knew better than to let him touch me again. I forced the water pipes beneath the walls and underneath the ground to burst open, showering him with water.

He shrunk to the computer chip that he had started out as.

Water began to fill the room as I walked over to him. Let the factory sink for all I care. "What is your mission? Why are you—" I was silenced as mad splashed me in the face, knocking me backwards.

"Hello," said Terra as my eyes rose to meet her. "Does the word 'decoy' mean anything to you?"

Overload disappeared into the ground.

"I had to find _some_ way to coax you cowards out of hiding."

"Terra," I growled as I held up my glowing hands.

"Raven," she replied as she mirrored my movement.

"Traitor."

"Witch." She charged forward at me.

Big mistake. _No one_ calls me a witch.

I blocked her two attacks and then lifted my foot to meet her face. I had the satisfaction of hearing something squish underneath my foot. I hope I broke her nose.

Terra leapt up and tackled me into the mud. Before I could get up, she grabbed me by my hair and lifted my head up.

Hair pulling now? _That's_ what it's come down to? Isn't my hair short enough for her? I had hoped that I would've had a better fight against her. That was just pathetic. I swept her legs out from under her with my hand, causing her to let go of my hair.

This time, _I_ was the one who tackled her. My hands found their way to her neck as the rest of her body disappeared underneath the mud. I counted the bubbles that came to the surface, waiting for when they would just simply die out.

A large bubble popped, sending me backwards. I levitated above Terra as she resurfaced.

She hardened the mud until they became solids that she could throw at me. I pulled a panel off of the ceiling and shielded myself. When the rain stopped, I threw the panel at her. Unfortunately, she was smart enough to harden a wall of rock around her. It broke off as the panel smashed into it, but she remained unharmed.

She molded the remaining rock into a large hand and formed a fist before she sent it at me.

I cut the rock in half and stood perfectly still as the pieces barely passed me without touching me. I lifted a large machine piece over my head and tossed it at her, but she flew away on one of her rocks.

A hammer made of mud forced me to the ground as it rapped on my head.

"You know, Raven," said Terra as I resurfaced, "I never liked you."

Since we were being honest with each other… "I never even wanted to _know_ you. You may have fooled the others, but I always knew you were a liar."

"Oh, really? Is that why you let me live in your house, and steal all your secrets, and—"

"Shut up!" My anger sent a wave of mud crashing her way, but she blocked it with ease. I, on the other hand, did not have it so easily when she sent three streams of mud my way. I was knocked backwards into the wall.

"You're not getting mad, are you, Rae?"

The use of my nickname angered me as it came out of her mouth.

"Better be careful. Beast Boy told me all about your temper tantrums." She molded a mud ball to resemble my face when I was angry.

My glare set in even harder. How could he have told her _that_? Of all things? A flood of emotions settled over me. "Anger is pointless. My emotions are under control," I lied. I could feel it creeping up within me.

She made a series of mocking tones at me. " 'Anger is pointless'. And you're calling _me_ a liar?"

I took a running leap at her and crashed back onto the ground as a mud hand grabbed my ankle. My anger was so close to spilling over that I could've thrown it up. I kept my head down as she moved closer to me.

"Come on, Raven, what stings the most? That I tricked you? That I nearly wiped out your team? That everyone liked _me_ better than you?"

"Stop it," I warned.

"Is it that deep down inside, you really believed I was your friend? Beast Boy certainly did. You should've seen his face the night he learned that I was working for Slade." She laughed.

That was it.

I felt myself rise above her. Fear passed over her face. Good. Fear me. You're supposed to fear me.

"He trusted you! _We_ trusted you," my not-me-voice yelled as I sent rocks hurtling toward her. "We gave you _everything_ and you treated us like _dirt_!" I leaned forward, but found that I was being restricted by a giant pair of mud hands.

I struggled against it, knowing that I would overpower it in the end.

At least, I _would_ have, had she not conjured up two more pairs.

They pulled me away from her, away from my anger. They pulled me _down_.

"Who's in control _now_," she asked me.

At the last moment, before the mud took away my vision, I was brought back from my witchiness. I was saved.

And I was drowning in mud.

I could only think about what I had last said to Beast Boy. Had I known that this was to be my last moment on Earth, I wouldn't have told him that I hated him. I wouldn't have lied to him. I would've told him the truth about my non-witchy feelings.

I gasped for air as the hands released me. My instincts told me that I was drowning, and I needed to save myself soon, or I would die.

A voice told me otherwise.

Try to remember, Raven! You are a _witch_. Witches don't die by drowning. No, they are hung or burned at the stake. You are not burning. You are not being hanged. You will _live_.

I would live. I would live!

My back hit the bottom of the floor. How high had the mud risen up in the factory? That didn't matter now, though. I had to get out of this situation. I had to get back to my mission. I had to get back to my life. I had to get back to my friends. I had to get back to Beast Boy.

I encased my body in a ball of black light and merged into the floor. When I came up for air again, I was in a cave underground. My lungs forced me to breathe again as I wiped mud off of my face. I coughed and sputtered so badly that someone would've thought that I was sick.

When I got up, I walked around in the darkness. It was where I belonged, the darkness. It gave me time to think. I realized as I walked around that it had all been a trap, and we had all fallen for it. Their plan had been to separate us, and we had eagerly complied.

I wasn't the only one Terra had probably tried to kill. I wondered if any of my friends survived her attack.

The voice told me to stop worrying. My friends and I made up the _Teen Titans_—if _anyone_ were to make it through attempted assassinations, it'd be us.

I was thrown backwards suddenly as I bumped into something. Instead of crying out in pain, I held up my hands and prepared to fight whatever the darkness had to throw at me.

Instead, I was blinded by the flashlight that was built in on Cyborg. "Raven," he asked.

I imagined how primal I must've looked just then. Mud caked all over my body, my hair in disarray, a wild look in my eyes…

Beast Boy nearly forced me to the ground as he hugged me. "Raven," he cried. He backed up nearly as fast as he had come onto me. "Sorry, I—"

"I didn't mean it," I told him. It was the closest thing to an apology that I could muster at that moment. There were more important things to worry about.

He smiled at me. Oh, how I would've missed his fanged smile! How I would've missed his spiky green hair and emerald-colored eyes. How I would've missed the way he goes about his day and his horribly hilarious jokes. I would've missed it all.

"Where are the others," I asked.

Cyborg turned and revealed the others. After Starfire had hugged me to death, Robin called us all together.

"No more chances," said Cyborg.

Starfire nodded. "No more trust."

"And no more mercy," I added.

"She's just another criminal," said Beast Boy with crisp bitterness.

"And we're going to stop her," said Robin with determination. "No matter what it takes."

And that's exactly what we planned. Her destruction. We waited and listened as the city above us was taken over by Slade. With no one left to stop her, Terra hardly needed to do anything to bring Jump City to its knees.

We waited patiently, despite the torture it put us through as we listened to the screams and cries above us. Finally, after fifteen hours, it stopped. It was time for our plan to commence.

We made our way to the surface and looked down on Terra and Slade's drones as they patrolled the streets. "Sector Five is secure," she said to no one. She was probably talking through an earpiece, just like the one Robin had used when he'd been Slade's apprentice. "Pretty quiet up here since all the people cleared out."

Don't get used to that, Terra. Once we take you down, they will return. Life will go on. Without _you_.

She continued down the street until she was facing the Tower. "Well, we did it. They're really gone."

And that was our cue.

I wrapped my dark energy around one of the drones and pulled him into the cover of the fog bank around us before breaking him apart. Cyborg and Robin took out the two drones that came to check on their friend. Starfire blasted Terra off of the rock she'd used to carry her through the air.

She saw our silhouettes. "No!" she cried. "I destroyed you. You're all…" She stretched out her hand, but I moved us before she had time to strike. When the dust cleared, all she saw was an overturned car.

Beast Boy ran in circles around her, making her turn this way and that; Cyborg punched her forward; Starfire blasted her to the side; I became an actual raven and grabbed her with my feet before lifting her into the air. She escaped from me, only to have Robin knock her down onto the ground. Beast Boy, in the form of a wolf, growled at her.

"Beast Boy! Beast Boy, stop! Aren't you even gonna talk to me?"

After all she did, she _still_ expects him to want to talk to her? A girl has to realize when she's lost at some point.

"There's nothing left to say," said Cyborg.

"You attempted to annihilate us," cried Starfire.

My hands clenched into fists. "Did you think we wouldn't take it personally?"

"It's _over_, Terra," said Robin as he closed the circle we'd made around her.

She looked around and did exactly what I had expected her to do. She jumped up into the air, landed on a rock, and took off.

"She seems quite scared," said Starfire.

"Scared isn't the same as sorry," I told her.

Robin frowned. "I don't care how she _feels_. Terra's a dangerous criminal and she has to be stopped."

"She will be," said Beast Boy. "I'm going to make sure of it."

Cyborg's arm began to beep. "Got a lock," he told us. "She's headin' east."

I caught us up to her.

She peered around the corner, just in time to get a glimpse at Cyborg as he crashed into her. She threw rocks at me and Cyborg. Cyborg punched through his; I lifted mine into the air and threw it back. Finally, I got the satisfaction of knowing that it finally hit her.

She tried to fly away again, but this time, Starfire was ready for her. Starfire punched through Terra's rock, forcing Terra to be back on the streets with us. Starfire blasted her with her star bolts; Cyborg blasted her with his cannon; I did what I had wanted to do to her since I'd met her.

I dropped a bus on top of her.

She appeared out of the ground and found a rock to carry her. Despite our efforts, she managed to get away from us, but not before the ground opened, revealing our three decoys from the night before.

Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload let out a terrifying screech as they merged into each other, becoming one monster, Ternion. Remember how I said that my fight with Killer Moth was my most disgusting one? This tops it by far.

"And I thought they were ugly before," said Cyborg.

"Titans, go," cried Robin.

Ternion pounded the ground with his fist, causing us to separate. Robin leapt into the air and threw explosives into his face. Ternion roared and fell to his knees for a brief moment. It stood up and sent strands of itself to wrap around Robin.

Robin, after being electrocuted by the strands, fell to the ground.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" I lifted the abandoned cars on the side of the street into the air and flung them into Ternion's face. Then, I flew down to Robin to make sure he was okay.

Ternion stood up and roared again.

Starfire flew past us with a battle cry and went through its chest. Gross. She didn't emerge with any slime, though. She immediately turned and blasted it with her eyes.

Ternion pushed her into the building behind her and then turned to face Cyborg as he aimed his cannon. Without any hesitation, Ternion used its tongue to gobble Cyborg up in its mouth. He spit Cyborg out moments later.

I flew forward and shot energy blasts at Ternion, sending it into the building behind it. It was quickly overturned by Starfire when it tried to stand again.

Shots fired from behind told us that the drones had joined the fighting. They circled around us.

Robin looked at me. We had planned this. "Raven, now," he cried as he threw a device into the air.

I reacted immediately. I barely even heard the explosion as I used my dark energy to shield us. The explosion destroyed all of the drones that had surrounded us. I dropped my shield with a half-smile.

The little bit of a smile I had mustered disappeared as Ternion got to its feet. I slammed a bus into its face, initiating our attack on the creature. Robin, with the help of Starfire, jumped onto Ternion's back and placed a device on it. The device electrocuted the creature, knocking it unconscious.

"We're gonna need a bigger jail," I muttered as I watched the beast sleep.

"Where is Beast Boy," asked Starfire with a look around.

Even I had missed when Beast Boy had disappeared. I'd assumed that he'd been with us the whole time, but apparently he hadn't.

Robin pulled out his T-communicator and said, "Five kilometers east and eight hundred meters below the surface."

I didn't know where that was, but it didn't take us long to get there. The sight made my witchy heart pause for a moment.

Beast Boy was trapped underneath a rock. He looked up as Terra raised a hand to finish him off. "Terra, no," he begged.

"He's too powerful," she told him with tears in her eyes. "I can't stop him."

"Yes, you can. It's _your_ power, not his. You can still control it. You can still do the right thing."

"It's too late," she said as four sharp rocks hovered over Beast Boy.

"_Stop_," cried Robin as he swung down into the cave.

"Strike, apprentice," said Slade, "_now_!"

"Terra, no!"

I appeared behind her with my hands raised. I was ready to kill. I _wanted_ to kill. I wanted to kill _her_. "It'll be the last thing you _ever_ do." I wouldn't let her get to that point, but I would kill her anyway.

We held our weapons in our hands, ready to strike if she forced us to.

"I gave you an order," Slade bellowed. "Do it!"

Starfire's hands glowed a little brighter. "Please, Terra, no!"

"Don't do it," said Cyborg with his cannon aimed. "_Don't_ do it!"

They urged her not to do it; I made sure she knew what would happen to her if she _did_ do it—or try to.

Suddenly, with a loud battle cry, Terra aimed the rocks at Slade, who jumped out of the way. She chased after him in the cave.

Cyborg lifted the rock off of Beast Boy, and I helped him to his feet. We watched Terra as she took on Slade by herself. I had to admit, she was doing a pretty good job. But she didn't finish. She left Slade when he fell to the ground far below. She believed he was finished.

He wasn't.

He jumped back onto the ledge and held her up by her breastplate. I didn't know who to root for. I wanted both of them dead, but who did I want to see live through this?

Terra's entire body turned yellow. "You can't control me _anymore_!" Her power exploded within her, causing the underground cave to shake and rumble.

"Terra's power," cried Robin as a blast of lava shot up from the ground. "It's triggered a volcano!"

Of course it has. The girl couldn't have a normal control of her superpowers.

"Big enough to take out the whole city," said Cyborg. "And _way_ too big to stop!"

I shielded myself from a trickle of lava as it fell down on me. "We have to get out of here," I told them.

But I didn't get out of there. No, I ran with them, I saw Beast Boy stay for Terra, but I didn't move any further. Something had caught my eye. A closer look told me that it was Slade, crawling up to a safe ledge from the lava.

I decided right then and there and if one of them had to die, it would be Slade. He was the cause of all of our problems. Robin's betrayal, Beast Boy's pain…I would not allow him to live another day longer after he had caused so much.

I was in a fighting mood. I was a witch. I was Raven the witch, who was in a fighting mood—and ready to kill.

You don't have to be as big as Cyborg to do a lot of damage with your elbow. I jabbed mine into his front, where Slade's ribs gave way to much softer stuff. Down he went. I stamped on his stomach, which resulted in a most satisfactory sound.

I flung myself upon him.

Down went his skull. Crash! Onto the cobbles.

You can win a fight if you don't care about getting hurt. I have a good head, and I used it. Crack went my skull against his.

See the lovely stars, Slade? I saw them myself, red blobs splatting against my eyeballs.

Slade threw me off of him and lunged at me.

Not just yet, Slade. I'm not done. I haven't killed you yet.

I outstretched my hand and encased his body in dark energy. He froze in midair, where my power has stopped him.

The earth moved me, trying to shake me off. Shake my wickedness away. I tasted lightning again as I fell up into witchiness.

A skull sat on Slade's right shoulder. It stared at me as though we were acquainted, which we were. We'd met once, but I couldn't think where.

The eyes of the skull were black holes held into place by bone. They were no more than holes but they recognized me. The skull worked its jaw back and forth.

When a person has already seen Death—seen it once, at least—you'd think she'd remember whose shoulder it had been sitting on. But this particular person did not. I only knew that that person had died.

I knew that Slade was soon to die.

Death had no lips, but it was smiling.

Dead finger-bones chittered. It was waving? Yes, a friendly little finger twinkle, waving goodbye. Death vanished all at once, and I returned to my mind.

Slade was drowning in fire. He was sinking into the lava. His mask slipped underneath.

Slade was dead.

I had killed him.

My witchiness had killed him.

I left Slade and merged into the shadows. I joined my friends, who were so busy trying to get Beast Boy to leave, that they hadn't even noticed that I had left. We ran from the caves with Terra's screams trailing behind us.

When we returned, we found that she had been hardened into a statue. A statue! Of all things! She now had a monument to her.

Beast Boy saw to it that we gave her a funeral. I stood next to her headstone. Normally, I would've been next to her grave—not to dance on it like my wicked mind would tempt me to do—but there is no grave. You need a body for a grave. Terra's body was now a statue.

"I shall miss you, friend," said Starfire as she placed roses at the foot of Terra's statue.

"We'll be searching for a way to reverse the effect," I said. Did I actually mean that? Did I really want to save Terra? Could it be that I truly wanted to save Terra? I'll never know. We witches don't go in for self-knowledge.

"We'll bring her back," said Robin.

Cyborg nodded. "Someday."

Beast Boy placed her headstone beside the roses. "I'll never forget you, Terra."

My thoughts drifted like cold ashes. I killed someone. I promised Mother. I broke my promise.

And now _he_ was bound to come.

You mustn't forget to hate yourself. When you hate yourself, you don't spend time satisfying your selfish needs. When you hate yourself, you can take care of other people. When you hate yourself, you don't make mistakes that you'll regret.

I read Terra's headstone: a Teen Titan; a true friend.

Thank you, Terra. Thanks to you, now I understand. Now I know what I have to do, and how I have to do it. I know how to protect my friends.

It's strange how a person can have a distinct distaste for herself, but still she clutches onto life.

I hate myself.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Haunted

Seems like you can't trust anyone anymore.

We sent Cyborg on a mission to infiltrate H.I.V.E. Academy. Apparently, Cyborg enjoyed having his own team, because he left the Titans…again. In the end, we had to go to the Academy and retrieve him. He claims that he betrayed us so that he could complete his mission, but I have my suspicions. I know how tempting it must be for the second-in-command to want to lead.

Red X appeared again, only this time it _wasn't_ Robin. The team had a hard time believing that Robin wasn't fooling us again, despite the fact that Robin was trying to make it up to us. Though we never discovered who Red X was, we did manage to stop him from being any more of a threat. Still, I would've liked to have seen who was behind the mask.

I never thought that _Starfire_ would be keeping secrets from us. She came to us with news that she was to be married on Tamaran, and that she would not be returning to us. When we got there, we learned that Starfire isn't just some normal Tamaranian—she's their _princess_! Of course. I should've known because of how reserved she is in her speech.

I wonder what it's like to be a princess. A _real_ princess, that is. When I was seven, I would pretend to be a princess all the time. I wore a crown of silver on my head and danced around for Mother. When I was seven, I didn't know the horrors that would follow through the rest of my life.

I am seventeen now. I haven't played princess for several years.

I tried to be encouraging to Starfire for her wedding, but Robin's jealousy made it difficult. It turned out that there was no need for him to be jealous; Starfire wouldn't be getting married.

She defeated her sister Blackfire for the throne of Tamaran, won, and then gave the throne away to k'norfka. She says she'll go back and visit whenever she can, and this time we won't be thrown in a dungeon.

Even Beast Boy proved that he couldn't be trusted. He gave Cyborg some kind of virus that messed with Cyborg's systems. We spent the whole day trying to make sure he didn't eat the downtown area. Way to go, Beast Boy.

No  
one has questioned me yet, though they ought to. They've been investigating Slade's death ever since they found Slade's mask in the ruins of the underground cave. I could tell them that I know for a _fact_ that Slade is gone. But then they would have to ask me how I know that.

Robin's in denial. He keeps thinking that Slade isn't really gone. He's still obsessing over it. I don't think he's gotten much sleep over the past few days. He's gonna hurt himself if he keeps going on like this.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of the alarm going off in the Tower.

Cinderblock as out terrorizing some construction workers. Off all the things he could do with his powers, he was using them to pull off some high-school punk crime?

He picked up a truck and aimed for some of the workers. His attention was drawn to us when Starfire blasted him with her star bolts.

"Drop it, Cinderblock," said Robin, "before _we_ drop _you_."

Probably not the best thing to say to a giant rock monster with a truck in his hands. Needless to say, he was annoyed at our presence and threw the truck at us.

I caught it in midair and broke it apart. I don't think throwing it back at him would've done much, considering he has the strength to catch it again.

Starfire blasted him again, distracting him so that Robin had an opening to go for when he struck Cinderblock with his metal staff. Beast Boy, in the form of a triceratops, tried to push him over the edge of the road.

Cinderblock grabbed Beast Boy by his horns and threw him into the air. I caught him and placed him back down on the ground.

"Thanks," he cried back to me as he took off for Cinderblock.

I was about to respond, when I saw Cyborg get slammed into the ground. On instinct, I grabbed a crane and wrapped it around Cinderblock's waist. "Starfire," I groaned as I tried to push him backwards.

He was forced to move towards the edge of the road as Starfire shot more star bolts into his face. Suddenly he grabbed the end of the crane—which I had idiotically remained attached to—and flung me into Starfire.

We both fell to the ground. Robin fell further than that. He was tossed off the edge of the road, into the forest below. It suddenly began to rain very hard.

Beast Boy morphed into a dinosaur and chomped down on Cinderblock's head. Cyborg aimed his cannon at Cinderblock's knee, causing him to fall to the floor. From above, I heard a battle cry as Starfire landed on Cinderblock's head.

It's a wonder how his head didn't even crack. I don't think Starfire had been holding anything back. His head slumped down, as he slipped out of consciousness.

"Where is Robin," Starfire asked.

"Let's find him," I told her as I used my powers to shield me from the rain. I had my cloak on, but I didn't really want it to get wet.

_Irrelevant_. Focus on the task at hand.

I felt like a metal detector. Every so often, my readings on where Robin was would shift, as if he was running away from us. When we found him, he was holding his staff in his hand like a walking stick.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt your little nature hike," said Beast Boy, "but where _were_ you? We had to finish off Cinderblock by ourselves! In the rain! And—" He sneezed and morphed into a baby elephant. "Great," he said after morphing back. "Now I've got a cold." He squeezed underneath my shelter with me.

"Slade," said Robin. "He's back."

My heart raced. He couldn't be back. He was dead. I had killed him. People don't come back to life after they are killed. If Death were to give anyone a second chance, it would not be Slade.

"You sure it was him," Cyborg asked. "I mean, you kinda had Slade on the brain lately. Maybe—"

"It was him. He's going to create a massive earthquake, and we have three hours to stop it."

Cyborg shook his head. "I don't get it. The dude fell into a pit of _lava_. Who _lives_ through something like _that_?"

"Apparently, Slade," I told him.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. His voice was starting to sound like a frog. "He's pretty—" He sneezed again, this time morphing into a gopher. Another sneeze, a velociraptor. The last sneeze turned him into a fish. He quickly morphed back into himself once he'd gained control of his body. "Slippery." I think that was what he'd meant to say before the sneezing fit had caught him.

"We'll worry about _how_ Slade survived later," said Robin. "Right now, all that matters is how we stop him. Cyborg, check out the bridge. Raven, take the park. Beast Boy, the pier. Starfire, we're going after Slade."

Great. And who would end up taking Cinderblock to jail? Yours truly, of course. Yes, I got stuck with having to take Cinderblock to his designated cell. It was a pain to drag that two ton rock monster around.

I was even more annoyed when I got to the park and discovered that there wasn't anything there.

My T-communicator beeped.

"Robin," said Cyborg. "I'm at the bridge."

"Did you find the seismic generator," Robin asked.

_That's_ what we were supposed to be looking for? Would've been nice to know. I thought I was just supposed to sit here and wait for bad guys to come to me. I did another lap around the park, but nothing changed.

"Man, I can't find diddly. No signs of anything unusual."

"Nothing here either," I told them both.

Beast Boy's frog-voice joined us. "I got bupkis." He broke out in another fit of sneezes.

"They're there," said Robin. "Keep searching."

After an hour, I decided to give up. There was nothing here. There would _be_ nothing here. This search was pointless. Cyborg told me to meet him and Beast Boy downtown. I fly to meet them, but I didn't drop my shield.

Beast Boy took a while. When the green dove finally reached us, it sneezed and turned into a pig. No wonder he took so long. If he had sneezed like this the whole time, of _course_ he would've taken a while.

I extended my shield over him. The rain probably wasn't making him feel any better. After a second thought, I extended my shield over Cyborg too. No need to make it look like I favored Beast Boy or anything.

"I looked everywhere," Beast Boy told us in his frog-voice. "I think Slade sent us on a—" He sneezed five times; a giraffe, an armadillo, and a goose appeared.

I finished his sentence for him. "Wild goose chase?"

He morphed back into his human form. "Could I _please_ go lie down now?"

Cyborg was busy looking into his arm. "I've run a complete city sweep of the seismic faults." Couldn't he have done that _earlier_? Would've been nice to know _that_ before any of us left. "They're all clean. I'm thinkin' all this 'seismic generator' stuff is just another one of Slade's tricks."

Starfire joined us on the ground. "I am not so certain that Slade is behind this."

"What happened? Where's Robin?"

"Robin…has elected to search on his own."

Beast Boy said, "Why?"

"He said he saw Slade. I tried to see him, I truly did…but I could not." She looked down and absentmindedly touched her arm. "I have never seen Robin so angry. So angry at _me_."

Cyborg stepped forward. "Let's go find Robin."

I don't think Cyborg wanted to find Robin because Robin was recklessly searching on his own. I think he wanted to find Robin for Starfire—and so that he could ask Robin about what happened. I'm sure he didn't miss Starfire touching her arm.

Cyborg has recently been more open about challenging Robin. It's not because he has any romantic interest in Starfire—he would have a different aura around him for that—I think he still secretly desires his own team.

In a way, Cyborg _is_ another leader for us. Though immature at times, I do see him as responsible. He treats me as if I am his younger sister—he's protective of my feelings and being. He even comes to confess some of his problems to me.

Robin, however, is not very close to me.

"Robin's locator signal," said Cyborg as we entered an abandoned factory. "It's nearby."

A scream of pain echoed through the halls. Robin.

"_Very_ nearby," I said.

We hurried down the hallways until we reached the final doorway. Inside, amongst sets of clock tower parts, was Robin. His clothes were torn, and his face was bloodied and scratched up. He was stumbling backwards in a way that would normally suggest he was fighting someone.

There was no one there.

Cyborg shone the flashlight around Robin, but it only confirmed that there was no one around.

Robin was fighting. No one was there.

"Since when is Robin into mime," said Beast Boy.

Robin turned toward us suddenly and yelled, "Slade!"

Starfire lifted a glowing green light, illuminating the entire place.

"What are you doing here," cried Robin angrily. "You're supposed to be finding the generators!"

"I don't think there _are_ any generators, man. We looked everywhere."

"Slade must be cloaking them! Just like he's cloaking himself. That's why you couldn't see him!"

"But if I could not see him," said Starfire, "why could you?"

He stopped. "What are you trying to say?"

I understood it. I understood everything at that moment. "Robin," I said. "Are you sure you _really_ saw Slade?"

"Saw him? I _fought_ him!" He turned so we could see more of his torn clothes. "You think I did this to myself?"

"Dude," said Beast Boy's frog-voice, "this is the only way out, and we were standing here the whole time._ No one_ got past us."

"No one was in here but _us_," said Cyborg.

Robin frowned. "I don't have time for this. I have to find those generators."

"There _are_ no generators! There _is_ no Slade!"

"_I know what I saw_!" Robin took a couple of steps away from us. "I have to stop him. I'm the only one who can!" He pulled out one of his devices. "And I'll take down _anyone_ who gets in my way!"

Starfire blasted Robin from behind, knocking him out. She looked like she was about to cry. It probably _had_ hurt her more than it had hurt him. After all, he _was_ only knocked out. She was still conscious.

We took him back to the Tower's infirmary. While Starfire went to help Beast Boy with his cold, Cyborg hooked Robin up to a machine and I set restraints over him. There was no way he'd be able to get out.

"Is he okay," Starfire asked.

"He will be," said Cyborg.

Starfire frowned as Cyborg and I left him and entered the other room to monitor his systems. "But must we keep him restrained?"

"He threatened us, Star. He's dangerous."

"Dangerous," Beast Boy asked. "Try totally flipped out, cuckoo—" He sneezed. A mouse appeared.

"We've gotta run some tests on him," I said to Cyborg. I knew that Starfire wouldn't agree with me. "Figure out what's going on."

"Please," said Starfire as I turned toward the screen. "You have uncovered the cause of his stranger behavior?"

"So far, everything looks normal."

"But he is _not_ normal. Robin would not do these things. He would not threaten his friends; he would not shout at me, or—" She cut off quickly. "There _is_ a cause! And you _must_ find it!"

Oh, to be in love and hold your lover on a pedestal.

"Star, I'm sure there's a good explanation, okay," said Beast Boy. Even when he was sick, he stood up for me! "Maybe Slade really _is_ invisible, and we just can't—"

"No," said Cyborg. "He still would've shown up on my radar. I'm tellin' you, he wasn't—" He stopped as Robin's heart rate increased tenfold.

"His heart rate is off the charts," I informed Starfire and Beast Boy, who could not read the screen.

"Blood pressure, neurokinetics—most people can't survive this kind of stress."

He shouldn't have said that. The screen's heart rate flat lined.

Starfire rushed into the medical room. "Robin!"

He wasn't there. Somehow, he had escaped my restraints.

"Whoa," said Beast Boy. "And I thought _I_ didn't like goin' to the doctor."

Starfire lifted one of his restraints. "But where is Robin?"

"There," cried Cyborg as he pointed at the vent above us. Footsteps echoed down the system.

Really, Robin? Of all places to escape to, you went through the ventilation system? Next time, please have the sense to go out the window. It's not that high of a jump, and the water's deep enough to keep you from shattering any of your bones.

Beast Boy morphed into a hummingbird and flew up to the vents. He fell to the ground when he bumped into a metal block that covered the system. Metal blocks covered the windows and door too.

I headed to the computer and frowned. "Robin's activated the quarantine protocol," I informed them. "Nothing can get in or out."

"We shall see about that," cried Starfire as she threw a star bolt at the blocked door. It bounced around the room and broke a vase.

"Careful, Star," said Cyborg.

Starfire pounded on the door, but it did no good. I _just_ said no one could get out. "We _must_ find Robin!"

Is _that_ all she wanted? Wasn't it enough to know that he couldn't get out of the Tower? I sighed as Cyborg started to drill through the door.

"What are you doing," Beast Boy asked me as I began to levitate in the air.

"Finding Robin," I replied. My body couldn't get out, but my essence could. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

I was lifted from my body—probably in the form of a Raven. I always seem to appear to the team in that form. I traveled through the vents and fans until I came upon Robin in the basement.

"Robin," I said as my essence entered his mind. "I'm here to help you." Pictures of Robin's life flashed before my eyes. That's what happens when you enter someone's mind—you end up seeing their life. We're close now, aren't we, Robin?

"Raven!" he cried, as he shut his eyes. He was trying to force me out. Too bad that's not how it works. "What are you—You have to get out! Slade! He'll destroy you!"

"Robin, your _heart_. You're in danger. You have to trust me. Slade isn't here. He's _not_ in the Tower." He was being initiated in some dark cave. He was watching his parents fall from their trapeze in a circus.

"No," he insisted. "He's here. He's real! I've seen him!"

This stubborn boy! Would he _ever_ give in? He was messing around with Slade's mask and inhaling dust. His memories caught up to the present. "Then let _me_ see him. Through _your_ eyes." I need his permission to do that.

He took two deep breaths to calm himself down, and then he gave me permission.

"See, Robin?" I said as we looked around together. "There's no one here. There never was."

I was wrong.

Slade appeared in front of us and rammed his fist squarely into Robin's jaw.

I was forced out of Robin's mind and fell to the ground in reality. Stars burst in front of my eyes. I gasped as I sat back up. "_Slade_!"

"You saw him," Cyborg asked.

I nodded my head and allowed Beast Boy to help me to my feet. "I don't know if he's real or not, but he's real to Robin. And that's all that matters. The stress on his brain is destroying his body. Robin truly believes he's fighting Slade. And Slade is winning."

"This ends _now_!" Starfire cried. She used both her star bolts and the beams from her eyes and melted a hole through the metal and the door itself.

We hurried to the basement. Robin was standing alone, in the middle of the only light in the dark room.

"Robin," cried Starfire as she flew down to him. She caught him just before he could hit the ground. She brought him back up to the infirmary. This time we didn't restrain him.

"Looks like Slade pulled off one last trick," said Cyborg. "His mask contained a chemical reagent that infiltrated your central nervous system."

"The dust," Robin confirmed. "It made me see, hear, and feel Slade, even though he wasn't there."

"And the more you fought," said Starfire, "the more harm it did to you."

I rubbed my jaw. "And anybody else who got in the way."

Cyborg smiled. "Scan says you're all clear now, though."

"Yeah, well, just to be sure," said Robin as he walked over to the edge of the room and turned off the lights. He held his breath as he took a good look around the room. After a few moments, Robin let out a sigh and turned the light back on. "I've been fighting Slade for so long, I guess it's hard to just let it go."

Sorry about that. I guess. I'm not sorry for killing him. Wicked people like me aren't _ever_ sorry for killing people.

"But sometimes I feel like I'm the only one still looking for him."

You are.

"The only one who can stop him."

I stopped him. You don't know that, but I did.

Starfire stepped forward. "Robin, you are never alone."

Cyborg nodded and said, "And if Slade really _does_ ever return, we'll be ready. We got things covered here, why don't you get some rest?"

Robin smiled. "Sounds like a good idea." He left the infirmary to go to his room.

"Okay, _he's_ better," said Beast Boy as he sat up from the medical bed. "Now what about _me_? I'm _dyin'_ over here!" He sneezed. A guinea pig. He sneezed. A koala. He sneezed again. A frog.

A frog prince. Maybe he'd feel better after a kiss. That is not the kind of thing wicked girls do, though. We save _that_ for princesses. Starfire should do it, then, seeing as _she's_ a princess.

I walked over to Cyborg and said, "What is it?" He was messing with the computer screen.

"The reagent in Slade's mask didn't trigger itself. It was a signal. Somebody triggered it. From _outside_ the Tower."

Well then. _That_ was something to worry about.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Spellbound

Malchior ducked underneath a ball of fire that Rorek sent at him. He faced the terrible dragon with his glowing white hands and chilling blue eyes.

Rorek roared and sent another fireball at Malchior, who conjured a shield to protect him. The next fireball disintegrated Malchior's shield.

Malchior shot a ball of white energy into the dragon's chest, pushing the dragon backward. He jumped up onto the remains of a staircase to avoid another fireball.

Rorek swung his tail and broke through the staircase, forcing Malchior to the ground.

"Necronom, Hezberek, Mortix," Malchior cried as he slammed his fists into the ground, breaking it apart. Rorek the dragon fell through the floor below.

_And so it came to pass that I, Malchior of Null, did lay siege to the dread-dragon, Rorek._

With a roar, Rorek flew up to the landing that Malchior resided on and grabbed the wizard with his tail.

_But it did seem that the power of Rorek was greater than my magics could defeat. And as the foul beast struck…_

I was interrupted by the sound of the alarm. For once, I dreaded having to go.

"Hey, Raven," cried Beast Boy as he passed my room. "Put the pedal to the metal! We gotta go!"

I slammed my book shut and went.

Cardiac was terrorizing a park full of children. You don't get any more evil than that. He tried to suck a kid through one of his mechanical veins, but Robin cut through them, and Starfire brought the kid to safety.

"Cardiac," said Robin, "you're under arrest."

Cardiac sucked his limbs back into place and floated into the air above us.

"Titans, go!" Robin jumped into the air. "Starfire, launch!" He was thrown on top of Cardiac, sending the giant, mechanical heart into the ground. Unfortunately, he didn't get up fast enough, because Cardiac threw him back into Starfire.

Cyborg jumped onto Beast Boy's back as he morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. "T-Rex takedown!" He aimed his cannon at Cardiac.

Cardiac grabbed Beast Boy and flung the two of them into the air.

I grabbed a bunch of streetlights and sent them flying into Cardiac, whose limbs destroyed them before he could get to me. I ducked underneath his limbs and flew away.

While I was gone, my fellow Titans were rendered useless against Cardiac. He knocked me to the ground; I avoided any further attacks by getting back into the air. "This has gone on long enough," I told him. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Black energy spread from the tips of my fingers and encased Cardiac. With a simple flick of my wrist, I broke him apart.

So long as there isn't another piece left of him, he can't regenerate.

"Dude," cried Beast Boy. "Way to take him apart!"

I ignored him and strapped the seatbelt around me in the car. I slammed the door, drawing attention to me, and said, "Can we _go_ now?" Unlike them, _I_ had something important to get back to.

My book.

After we dropped Cardiac off in jail, I hurried to my room to finish my book:

_But it did seem that the power of Rorek was greater than my magics could defeat. And as the foul beast struck…_

Someone knocked on my door. I closed my book and answered it.

"Hey," said Robin. "When we got home, you kinda ran to your room and locked the door. Anything you wanna talk about?"

He's been like this ever since I got into his head. Too bad there's nothing to talk about. "No." I shut the door and returned to my book.

_…greater than my magics could defeat. And as the foul beast struck, I…_

Someone _else_ was knocking on my door. I closed my book and answered it.

Starfire's hair had been twisted and braided in every way possible—and it was decorated. She smiled at me. "I have journeyed to the mall of shopping and discovered the joy of Earthly hair ornaments. Do you wish to—"

"No." Normally, I would've said yes. But, unfortunately for her, I have a book to finish.

Hopefully I can actually _finish_ it this time.

_And as the foul beast struck, I summoned the forces of my enchanted book._

"Aldruon, Enlenthranel, Vosolen, Lirus-nor!" cried Malchior.

_And with a curse more ancient than the foul Rorek himself, I…_

"Yo, Raven," cried Cyborg as he pounded on my door.

"Dude, open up," Beast Boy begged.

_Never_ interrupt my reading. I stormed over to the door and threw it open. I must've looked frightening, because Beast Boy and Cyborg jumped back. "_What_?"

Beast Boy smiled at me. "We're here tonight with an exclusive offer."

"A once in a lifetime chance to get in on America's fastest growing sports sensation."

"A hot new game we just made up!"

Cyborg held up a ball made up of Beast Boy's socks as they both yelled, "Stank Ball!" Cyborg smelled the ball, which obviously turned out to be a mistake, because his eyes started to water.

Beast Boy revealed what was behind his back: a black and white cloak that was similar to mine. "Wanna be referee?"

I would have, had they not interrupted my reading. They needed to be punished. "_Go away_." I turned around and started to close my door, but they held it open.

"But _please_," Beast Boy begged.

Cyborg smiled. "Everybody loves a good game of Stank Ball."

"And we need a referee to play the lightning round!"

"_No_." I used my powers to push them back so that I could shut my door.

"Oh, Raven, _come on_," cried Beast Boy. "Why can't you just have fun like _normal_ people? Why are you always locked in your _dark_ room, reading your _nasty old_ books? Why do you have to be so _creepy_?"

I clutched my book to my chest.

"Forget it, B," said Cyborg. "Leave her alone."

A string tugged at the squishy bits behind my ribs. This one hurt. The damage was done. Nothing he could do could take that back. "I'm not creepy," I whispered to myself. "I'm just _different_." If only he knew _how_ much different I really was.

I sat back down on my bed. "I wish there was someone around here who understood that. Someone I could talk to. Someone…more like me."

I know better than to wish or pray. If there _is_ someone up there granting wishes and prayers, I'm not at the top of the list. In fact, I'm not even _on_ the list. There's no point in having hope.

"There is," said my book.

I threw it onto the ground and stood up.

"Ow," said the book.

I gasped. "Did you just…?"

"Speak?"

"Uh-huh." I sounded ignorant, but what do you say to a book when it starts to talk to you?

"I did. And then you dropped me on my spine," the book said with a lovely British accent. Much better than the one Mad Mod uses.

"Oh. Sorry. Books aren't supposed to talk."

"True, fair Raven. But I am no book." The book opened itself and flipped through the pages until it came to a half-torn page of a wizard. A wizard with white hair and chilling blue eyes. "I am a man. Malchior of Null, at your service!"

"The wizard who faced the dread-dragon, Rorek?"

"The wizard who _defeated_ Rorek. And who is trapped within these pages by the dragon's final curse."

"Trapped? But that battle was almost—"

"One thousand years ago. And I've been waiting for someone to find me ever since. Raven, I've been waiting for you." He flipped to another page further in the book where a picture of me lay.

I was shocked. There was no mistaking it—the girl in the picture was me. Dark clothes, short hair, magic powers, and everything. How had a picture of _me_ ended up in this book? I felt my cheeks heat up.

He had been waiting for me all this time. He had waited, and I hadn't come. How many years have I had this book in my possession? Three! Not _once_ did I even _dare_ to open to the front page!

I extended my hand to help pull him out of the pages, but a bright white blast of energy prevented me from doing so. "The curse is strong. I'm sorry. I don't think my power can break it."

"I know," he said with a soft voice. "But perhaps we could just…talk?"

We did.

There are certain advantages to having a conversation. One is that a person like Malchior might make you laugh, and you might begin to remember how pleasant that is. Another is that you tell yourself things you didn't know you knew.

Malchior listened to everything I told him.

He listened about Slade.

He listened about Terra.

He listened about Robin and Starfire and Cyborg and…Beast Boy.

"Stank Ball," he asked me when I'd caught up to the present. "You're joking."

"They wanted _me_ to referee."

"Smashing," said Malchior, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You must be the luckiest girl in the world. And this…_Beast Boy_ sounds like an absolute genius."

I laughed. By now, the sound wasn't too horrible. "That's funny. _You're_ funny."

"And _you're_ the best thing that's happened to me in a thousand years."

"Then…you don't think I'm…creepy?"

"Certainly not! You _are_ dark, and darkness is often misunderstood, but I feel like _I_ understand you."

Another invisible string tugged at the squishy bits behind my ribs. This one didn't hurt. This one felt…_nice_. "I feel that way, too."

I didn't want it to end, but life isn't fair. I guess I can only be granted one wish. My face pulled up in a long yawn.

The eyes of Malchior stared into mine. "It's late; you should sleep."

Fear and anxiety struck my heart at once. "Do you promise you'll still be here when I wake up?"

The page before his twisted itself into a paper rose. "I promise."

I used the rose as a bookmark so that I wouldn't forget where his face was. I closed the book and placed it beside my head as I rested on my pillow.

Sometimes my dreams don't take me back to my world. Sometimes I remain here with my nightmares.

I was walking through darkness, dancing through it, really. Suddenly, the cry of a child stopped me. I turned and found a girl shivering the corner.

I made my way over to her, but she drew away from me. "What's wrong?"

She started to wail as she pointed at me. An adult swooped in and comforted the scared child.

I realized then that my presence had frightened the little girl. I immediately turned away from them and continued my walk.

Beast Boy's voice followed me in the darkness: "Why can't you just have fun like _normal_ people? Why are you always locked in your _dark_ room, reading your _nasty old_ books? Why do you have to be so _creepy_?"

I stopped and covered my ears. "I'm not creepy," I yelled back. The voice continued to chase after me.

I looked around, but only saw darkness. For once I was afraid of it. "Malchior! Malchior, please answer me! Malchior, where are you?"

The white book appeared before me. I rushed over to it and opened it, expecting to hear Malchior's sweet voice.

I didn't He wasn't anywhere to be found. I flipped through the entire book, but he wasn't there. The paper rose he'd given me crumpled to the floor.

"Malchior?"

_Poor Raven. All alone with her creepy books, her creepy darkness, and her creepy self. _

I awoke with a start and immediately turned to the book. "Malchior?" I asked as I flipped open to the page.

The eyes were closed.

"Malchior!"

The eyes opened themselves. "No need to shout, love. I'm right here. Just as I promised."

My breathing slowed down. I realized that I had really been dreading his disappearance, and anticipating his return. "I was worried."

Suddenly, the air split as a rooster crowed. There were no roosters in Jump City—Beast Boy. By the height of the sun, it _definitely_ wasn't morning. If he's going to be annoying, might as well do it at an inopportune time, right?

Malchior said, "I'm assuming that's Beast Boy."

We laughed together.

Moments later, there was a knock on my door. "Hey, Raven," cried Beast Boy. "Um, it's, like, almost noon, and you haven't come out of your room…so, just in case you're mad, I'm gonna go ahead and say sorry I called you creepy last night."

I stared at the door, unsure of what to do.

"Raven?"

"Perhaps if we're quiet, he'll just go away," Malchior whispered.

I giggled in hushed tones.

"Um, Raven? Is everything—"

I stood up and answered the door. I cracked it so that he could only see half of my face.

"Hi. Um, you were…_laughing_. And I thought I heard—Is there someone in there?" He tried to peer around me, but I blocked his view.

"Just me," I told him. Then, because I secretly have a sense of humor, I added, "And a _really_ good book."

"Oh. Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Now he cared? It's too late for that. Yesterday would've been the best time to wonder if I was okay. I'm fine, now, though. Thanks to Malchior. "Better than okay. _Way_ better." I closed the door and returned to Malchior. "Sorry, Malchior. He won't bother us again."

"Raven, I think I know of a way you can help me."

Under his instructions, I set up a bunch of candles in a circle. I poured rose petals and potions on top of talc powder and mixed it together. "I've never even _heard_ of this spell," I told him. "Where did you learn it?"

"It's in the Galeon Scrolls."

"_You've_ read the Galeon Scrolls?"

"And the Mortal Archives, and the Stones of Sur." He chuckled. "I've been trapped in a _book_. Not much to do _but_ read."

I finished pouring another potion. "I think it's almost ready."

"Good. There's just one more ingredient." His pages shot out and lashed at my hair. Slivers of my blue hair fell into the bowl underneath me. "A lock of hair from a _beautiful_ girl?"

My heart stopped. "Beautiful," I repeated.

"I _truly_ appreciate all that you are doing for me, Raven."

"I might not know how to break the curse, but at least I can get you out of that book." I picked up the powder and poured some of it in my hands. I held it up to Malchior and blew it into his pages.

The pages flew out of the book and folded into themselves until they became a figure of a man. A very _tall_ man. A beautiful man with beautiful eyes. _His_ eyes. He'd kept the eyes that I would recognize. A white circle of energy spun around him.

I was made aware of the fact that I was staring at him when he said, "Thank you."

I glanced away, but smiled. "You're welcome."

He stepped out of the spinning white circle and raised his hand to meet mine. Before we could touch, the paper that made his hands began to fall apart.

I gasped and picked up the pages that had fallen.

"Silly me," said Malchior. "Of _course_." He walked back inside the white circle, and the papers flew from my hands to form his again. "I remain bound to the book."

"Because the curse is still in effect."

"Indeed. If I am ever to be _truly_ free…Well, it would require magics of much greater power."

"Then teach me the spells." I stepped into the circle with him. "I wanna help you. I wanna learn!"

He put his hand on my shoulder. Oh, how his touch burned—in a good and comforting way. "To break this curse, I must teach you _more_ than just a few simple spells. I must teach you everything I know." He held up a glowing white hand lifted my books into the air.

I looked around as the books opened up to a multitude of spells. I didn't even know where to begin with it.

Malchior did. He pointed up at the books as they circled past us. "The Book of Nord. The Entreal Verses. The Roman Nomicon. The Bursium Chronicle. More than six thousand pages of spells, charms, and incantations."

"That's a lot of reading."

He chuckled.

He taught me for days. The more time I spent with him, the happier I became. It was starting to show on my clothes. Somehow, my cloak's dark colors had begun to fade. It was almost a shade of periwinkle now.

I smiled at him as I put down one of the books.

"Those are just the basics," he told me. "Now, for more powerful magics, we turn to the words of Oreidan the Strange."

As I read, I was aware that he was staring at me. I glanced up occasionally and caught him a few times—not like he was trying to hide it. Finally, when I was done reading, I decided to demonstrate one of the spells.

I stepped into Malchior's circle so that he could assist me.

"And let the energy flow through your entire body," he told me. "Feel your thoughts giving it power and form."

How much emotion should I put into it? I pictured Malchior in his true form. The thought made me so happy that I felt as if I could burst.

My spell did.

"Good, Raven, you've—"

I gasped as my green ball of energy burst into flames on top of his head.

"Almost got it," he said calmly.

I jumped up and extinguished the flames with my hands. When they were gone, I felt his hands tighten at my waist. He locked eyes with me and I blushed.

"I'll try it again later," I told him as I gathered more books.

"You know," he said as he came up behind me. "There is a better way." He held up his hand.

Green energy flew up from the books and found their way to the chakra on my forehead. I was immediately filled with the entire knowledge of these books.

"Let's try again," I said confidently. Can you imagine? Me, confident? I closed my eyes and focused on the spell.

Green energy flowed from my fingertips and became a sparking ball in the air. It floated up to the ceiling and burst to show a small raven spreading its wings.

"Beautiful," said Malchior as he came up behind me. "Absolutely beautiful, Raven."

He wasn't looking at my work. He was looking at me.

I allowed him to wrap his arms around my shoulders. I fell into him, wishing he would never stop holding me like this. The more I was around him, the less I felt like I was…evil.

The next day, Malchior sent me out to get food. I didn't want to leave him, but he insisted that I get some food in my system.

I'd forgotten what it feels like when someone truly takes care of you.

I left my room and made my way to the living room. I hummed the entire way. When I got to the living room, everything was quiet for once. I continued humming on my way to the refrigerator, where I picked up an apple with my new powers. I almost missed the black energy. Almost.

"Um, hey, Raven," said Robin as the Titans followed me into the kitchen. "Haven't seen you around much, lately."

Beast Boy sat on the counter with a frown. "Yeah," he cried. " 'Cause she hasn't left her room for a week!"

Cyborg silenced him with a glare before he turned to smile at me. "I, uh, like your new look."

"Thanks," I said with a mini-twirl. I liked how white looked on me, too. I should wear it more often.

"So," said Robin. "When do we get to meet this friend of yours?"

Was it _that_ obvious that I had acquired a new friend? I smiled. "Soon."

Starfire grabbed my shoulders and jumped up and down excitedly. "I am unable to wait! Beast Boy has told us much about the Malchior and how he remains trapped within a book, but—"

"Now how would _Beast Boy_ know something like _that_," I asked Beast Boy with a glare.

He laughed nervously and scratched his neck. "I may have, kinda, been a…a fly on the wall in your room." He morphed into a fly and danced around Cyborg's head.

"Funny," I said with a smile. "You look more like a _rat_ to me." I narrowed my eyes and forced my way into his head. Among his many thoughts, I found the place that controlled his shape-shifting abilities. From there, it was all too easy.

The green fly suddenly became a green rat and fell to the floor. The rat morphed back into Beast Boy and cried, "You morphed me! How did you do that?"

Suddenly, the computer's alarm system sounded. Robin checked on it and then said, "Titans, move!"

I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay with Malchior. The thought of Malchior made me start to hum again.

"Hey," cried Beast Boy. "We gotta _go_!"

I frowned, but went along with them anyway. I was late to the scene—the team had already started fighting.

Cardiac turned to me as I appeared in the air.

"This time, when I break you, stay broken," I told him. "Necronom, Hezberek, Mortix," I cried.

"Raven, careful," Robin yelled. "The girl!"

The girl? What girl? By the time I saw her, it was already too late. Black energy poured from my mouth and crawled up Cardiac and the girl inside.

"Raven, _stop_," Beast Boy pleaded.

I tried. Truly, I did. "I…can't!" My eyes spouted more black energy, making it crawl up Cardiac even faster.

The girl screamed. It was the same scream from my nightmare.

I _willed_ myself to stop, but it did no good.

Suddenly, a sharp object rammed into me, knocking me to the ground. Beast Boy. He morphed from the form of the ram and said, "What is _wrong_ with you?"

It wasn't me, it was my—I merged into the shadows around me and hurried back to the Tower.

Malchior was waiting for me.

"It's _dark_ magic," I cried. "You've been teaching me _dark_ magic!" I don't know what stung more: the fact that I had almost killed another person, or the fact that Malchior had exposed me to dark magic.

"Is it dark, or is it simply misunderstood? Like you. True, the spells I've taught you are very powerful. There are those who _fear_ power, so they call it dark." He grabbed my hand. "But for people like _us_, such distinctions do not exist. Without these spells, we can never truly be together. Enchanted pages or no, I'm still trapped within this book. And you're still alone. Is that what you want, Raven? To be alone?"

Something stung beneath my eyes. To my surprise, water began to race down my cheeks. Where was this water coming from? I was embarrassed when I realized that I was crying in front of him.

"No," I choked out between my sobs.

He wiped away my tears and drew me to his chest. "My sweet Raven, it's time."

He didn't have to explain anything else. I was ready. I made my way over to his book and looked back up at him.

"The incantation," he said, "just as I taught you." Malchior nodded at me.

I gathered my magic around me and said, "Hezberek Et Morine…Gost Wenthen Verbis Nex…Ind Obrium, Bis Pendrule…Paran Sic Cortis Rex!" Black flames exited from my body as the white circle encased Malchior in a beam of light.

His paper form dissolved, and the book turned to a new picture. I gasped as I watched a man transform…into a _dragon_.

"Malchior," I cried, unsure of what was happening within the pages. I was thrown back by a blast from the book. Pages fluttered around me. I grabbed one and watched in horror as two names switched places. "You changed it," I whispered. "Malchior wasn't the wizard, he was the…No," I cried as I leapt at the book.

It was too late. I was thrown back again as a large purple dragon entered my room. He shot a fireball at me; I shielded myself with my powers.

"Raven," cried Robin as they broke down the door to my room.

Malchior broke through my ceiling and escaped to the rooftop.

"He lied to me," I told them, though I'm not sure any of them understood what I was talking about. "He _lied_. And I _gave_ him what he wanted."

"Come on," said Robin to the Titans. They left.

Everyone except Beast Boy.

"Raven," he said as he came toward me, "are you—"

"Please," I whispered. I was afraid that I might cry again. "Just get out of my room."

I did not want to be the girl who would break down because of her first love. I refuse to become incompetent because my heart is broken.

No. My heart is _not_ broken. I am a witch. We don't get our hearts broken. We have no hearts to love with in the first place.

At least, we're not supposed to.

Above me, the Titans fought against Malchior. It didn't matter what they did. They wouldn't win. If he had almost defeated Rorek the wizard, there was no way they could defeat him.

But _I_ could.

I pushed aside my emotions and flew through the hole in my ceiling. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Four sparks of black energy struck Malchior across the face. I flew out of the way as he shot a trail of fire at me. When he stopped, I turned and struck him with more dark energy.

I picked up a piece of the ceiling—we would have to repair it later anyway—and threw it Malchior.

He shot a fireball at me, but I reflected it with a shield made of my dark energy. Before he could strike again, I called down black lightning from the sky.

He breathed more fire at me, I met his force with my own and struggled to hold my ground. He stopped attacking me suddenly, grabbed me around my waist, and flew into the air.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break free of him.

"Oh dear," said Malchior in a deep growl. It was his voice, but it had a darker tone to it. "You're not going to _cry_, now, are you? I know it hurts, but you'll just have to accept the truth. It's _over_." His red eyes narrowed. "I got what I wanted, and I don't need you anymore."

"It's not over," I told him. "Not yet." I was surprised at my own confidence. I used my powers to search for his book.

He chuckled in his deep voice. "Sweet Raven. You can't _possibly_ hope to defeat _me_. I taught you everything you know."

"_You_ taught me _spells_, but I've _just_ learned a _curse_." Got it! I brought the book up to me.

Malchior released me as he reared his head back and shot a breath of fire at me. "_No_!"

I held off his attack with the force of only one of my hands. I didn't need the book open to know the curse—he shouldn't have taught me how to take the knowledge from a book. "Aldruon, Enlenthranel, Vosolen, Lirus-nor!"

I held the book out to him and fused my powers with it. Malchior screamed as the blast hit him and turned his form into black smoke. The smoke was sucked back into the pages of the book, which I then closed.

I fell to the ground on my knees and set the book down beside me. The invisible strings that pulled at my witchy heart this time hurt even worse than before.

When my friends came to meet me, I explained everything to them while I used my powers to fix the Tower. Then, when the story was over, I flew back to my room and placed the book inside of a chest. I no longer desired to read it—I already knew how it would end.

"Goodbye, Malchior," I whispered.

Someone knocked on my door.

"Raven," said Beast Boy in a timid voice. "It's me. Look, I'm sorry."

I walked up to the door to answer it and then decided against it. "For what?" I heard my voice crack. "You're not the one who…"

"No. I'm sorry that he broke your heart."

Is it that obvious when a girl is hurt? Is it so hard for me to believe that a _witch_ could have her heart broken? "I know it was all a lie, but he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't…creepy." It hurt just to say it out loud. "And _don't_ try to tell me I'm not."

"Okay, fine. You're _way_ creepy. But that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room. You think you're alone, Raven, but you're not. You still have the Titans. You still have me."

I opened the door and threw myself into him. He held me to him in a close embrace for a moment. I pulled back to thank him for the comfort, but found myself face to face with him.

Beast Boy dropped his arms to his side and took a step back. "Uh…" he said with a confused look toward me.

Awkward.

Just like in any novel, there is always one character who manages to break up the "awkward silence".

Cyborg jumped from around the corner and threw the ball of stinky socks into Beast Boy's face, knocking the changeling to the ground. "Whoo-hoo," cried Cyborg with a fist pump. "Stank Ball!"

Despite the smell, I picked up the ball and looked toward Cyborg with a smile that even I would've deemed as "creepy". My black energy encased the ball.

Cyborg's smile disappeared. "Now, hold on, Raven, don't—"

I threw it at him and managed to hit his face too. I laughed as he rolled around on the floor from the stench.

Beast Boy ran back to his room and grabbed my referee cloak.

I tossed my dark blue one to the side and wrapped my new one around my neck. Then, I joined the game.

We had fun. Who knew a game called _Stank Ball_ would prove to actually be entertaining? We played until our bodies forced us to stop.

Cyborg turned on the Tower's security system and retired to his room.

"Do you really think I'm…creepy," I asked Beast Boy.

"Yes," he replied honestly. "It's not a bad thing, though. Not really. It's part of who you are, and I accept that."

I tried my best not to smile at him.

"Raven, are you gonna be okay?"

I didn't know what to tell him. I wanted to say "yes" but I felt like the real answer was "no". I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, if I ever see that guy again," he said with a smile, "I'm gonna rip him into pieces! Whether he's a dragon, or a bunch of pieces of paper, or.."

This time I didn't try to hold back my smile. "I felt like that too."

"When?"

"When Terra broke your heart," I said as I locked eyes with him.

Beast Boy faltered for a moment at the sound of her name. Then, he smiled at me. "Well, it's a good thing we have each other, then, isn't it?"

Yes. Always. You will always have me.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: The Beast Within

The team itself had things pretty easy. We fought Mad Mod, and even managed to destroy an underwater base of Brother Blood, the H.I.V.E. Headmaster. We even discovered a friend—Bee.

Things for _me_, however, weren't as easy. It was hard to get over Malchior. Beast Boy didn't make it any easier. He was constantly checking up on me. How was I supposed to get over Malchior if Beast Boy kept asking me about him?

I found myself continuously looking at the chest. Eventually, I decided that it would be easier for me to get rid of his presence in my head if I got rid of the chest entirely.

So I flew out to sea and dumped the chest. When I returned, I learned that a villain named Adonis was at an animal-testing facility. I could only imagine the things he was doing there.

Beast Boy scouted ahead. It was easy to tell where he went because the dogs barked as he passed them. I chose not to accompany him and stayed with the group. Ever since our hug, I've been trying to distance myself from him. He didn't take a hint the first few times that I did it, so I tried being meaner to him. So far, it still hasn't worked.

I'm afraid to close to him. Being friends with him is enough.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Beast Boy was thrown into our team as we rounded the corner. "Ugh," he groaned. "I think my spleen and my appendix just switched places."

A tall man in a muscular metal suit cracked his knuckles. "You wimps think you can take down _Adonis_?" He waved us over to him. "Bring it on."

"Dude, it is totally brunged!" He paused. "Branged!"

I rolled my eyes. "Ooh, bad grammar. _That_ oughta scare him."

"Titan's, go," cried Robin.

Adonis dodged Robin's metal staff, threw a green wolf to the side, and took on blast from me, Starfire, and Cyborg as if they were nothing. He then turned to catch Robin's staff in one hand, and knocked the Boy Wonder into a pile of boxes with his other fist.

"You're just makin' me more ripped," he said with a smile as he flexed his muscles.

Starfire picked up a desk and threw it down. Adonis caught it and tossed it back at her.

"No pain, no gain," he said as she was caught underneath it.

I encased his body in my dark energy. Cyborg and I went toward him to finish it off, but Adonis broke out of my hold. He tackled me to the ground, with his hands on my wrists and my torso trapped underneath him.

"Let me go," I ordered him as I struggled against his strength.

He purred. "You're _feisty_." Adonis leaned his head down a little bit.

I didn't know how to handle that. Not even_ Malchior_ had talked to me like that. I focused my powers and slipped through the ground, leaving Adonis—but not before I had left two tanks to drop onto him.

As I traveled through the ground, I wondered if Beast Boy had seen that. Not that I really cared. It would be better for him—and for me—if he didn't make a big deal about the whole thing.

When I emerged, Adonis was throwing Cyborg into a wall.

He flexed his mechanical chest. "Nobody outmuscles Adonis!"

"Oh, yeah," said Beast Boy. "Well, _my_ muscles may be small and ropey, but they're not…I mean—"He broke off as he stopped to dodge Adonis' fist. He morphed into a bull and charged forward.

Adonis caught Beast Boy by the horns and threw him into a couple of desks. The bull changed into a small monkey, but he was also thrown off of Adonis. And then, the monkey changed into a tiger. The tiger didn't do any better than the bull or the monkey. He was thrown underneath another pile of crates.

"What's the matter, wuss," Adonis asked as Beast Boy was buried underneath. "Don't you know how to fight like a man?"

"I'm not a man; I'm an _animal_!" cried Beast Boy before emerging as Sasquatch. He jumped down on Adonis, but the mechanical man slipped out from under him. He tried to punch Adonis, but the mechanical man was too quick.

Adonis was not quick enough, however, to avoid being head-butted by the green rhino. He tried to hold his own as the rhino morphed into a bear, but it didn't do him any good.

Beast Boy pushed Adonis back with his claws until they were both up against a larger set of tanks.

"Beast Boy," cried Robin. "Be careful! The chemicals!"

Chemicals?

The green chemicals poured over Beast Boy and Adonis as they crashed into the tanks. Between the chemicals and Beast Boy's attacks, Adonis' suit broke down, and the scrawny man fell out of it, unconscious.

The bear morphed back into Beast Boy, who angrily asked Adonis, "Who's the tough guy, _now_?" The green chemicals were all over his hair and clothes.

"Um, good job," said Robin with uncertainty as Beast Boy passed him.

"Nice…intensity," Cyborg told him.

Beast Boy didn't even look at me. Good.

Not really. I wanted to tell him that he had done a good job stopping the villain. I wanted to tell him that I was glad he was okay.

Instead, I told him: "Yeah, have any good freak outs lately?" I'm one to talk. After all, I still have my temper.

He spun around and closed the distance between us. "I just got sick of being pushed around," he told me before he left the building. This time, when he passed, I noticed that the dogs had silenced themselves.

When we returned to the Tower, I quickly hid back in my room and fell asleep.

I dreamed of Beast Boy—as I had for the last couple of nights.

My dream started with a knock on my door. I answered it, only to find Beast Boy standing in front of me. "What do you want," I asked him, masking my tone with annoyance so that he wouldn't suspect that I was actually glad to see him.

"I came to borrow something," he said with his goofy one-fanged smile.

I crossed my arms and leaned against my door. "And what would that be?"

"Your heart," he replied suddenly.

I was caught by surprise. It was completely out of character for him to say something like that, dream or otherwise. I suddenly realized that my emotions were tying into this dream even more than I had thought they would.

"Well," I said quickly, trying to hide my shock, "how do you plan to 'borrow' something of that nature?"

He shrugged, still smiling. "I'll just give it back to you whenever you ask for it." His playful smile morphed into mischief. "But until then," he said as he wrapped a hand around my waist, "your heart belongs to me."

Had it not already been a dream, I would've suspected that it was one. It was just too unreal. Picturing a romantic Beast Boy was almost as impossible as picturing a serious Beast Boy.

Despite the fact that it was a dream, I worried about the other Titans finding out. I didn't want this dream to turn into a nightmare.

"Raven, what do you think of me?" he asked me suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Am I funny? Cute? Adorable? _Irresistible_?" He puckered his lips and raised an eyebrow.

All of the above, I wanted to tell him. "Annoying," I told him instead.

He laughed. "Come on, Raven, you _know_ you like me. It just can't be helped."

_Now_ he sounded like Beast Boy. This version of him was easier to deal with than the romantic one. "Statistically, I suppose _someone_ has to."

His smile didn't fade. He locked eyes with me, and I realized that I was staring again. It isn't polite to stare. Some people find it unnerving.

Others take it as an initiative.

Beast Boy tilted my face up with his gentle fingers and leaned forward. I closed my eyes and melted into him as he pressed his—

I awoke with a start. I'd never dreamt of _that_ before. I shook the memory of the dream away so that when I got up, it wouldn't follow me out the room. I didn't it to mix with reality when I actually came across Beast Boy today.

I thought about what I'd said to Beast Boy the night before. It wasn't fair that I was being so rude to him. After all, _he_ hadn't broken my heart. There was no need for me to ruin the friendship we had just because I was afraid of my non-witchy feelings.

It's not even his fault I _have_ feelings.

I'm a witch. I'm not supposed to have feelings. This is probably why. Witches are wicked. Witches are evil. Witches do _not_ get their hearts broken. Witches don't have hearts. They don't have places for people to sneak into. They don't have places for people to invade like that.

At least, they aren't supposed to.

Every fiber of my being tells me that I'm not wrong to feel, but my entire life has been dedicated to _suppressing_ my feelings.

What do you do when you come across the most dangerous feeling of all?

I got dressed and brought a book along with me as I left my room. For the longest time, I'd been afraid to pick up another book. I didn't want another incident like Malchior. This book, however, was safe to read.

I was so immersed in the book, that I hadn't even noticed Beast Boy until I bumped into his shoulder. I picked up my book and looked back at him as I said, "Sorry." I hoped he'd take that apology and realize that it was also meant for last night's events.

He turned on me with a glare. "You _better_ be," he told me before he turned back around. "Why don't you look where you're goin'?"

I frowned. "On second thought, I'm _not_ sorry. And you're a jerk." I opened my book and continued down the hallway.

This wasn't a dream. Beast Boy had actually spoken to me like that. I don't know what's wrong with him, but this isn't the Beast Boy I know. And I don't like it.

"You know, Raven," said Beast Boy as he appeared in front of me. I hadn't even heard him come back. "I've been a _really_ nice guy for a _really_ long time. I've put up with your insults, and your attitude, and I've _had_ it." He closed the distance between us. "Consider this a warning: as of last night, Mr. Nice Guy has left the building."

My frown settled into a glare. Who was this person in front of me? It definitely wasn't Beast Boy. "Is _this_ the part where I'm supposed to be intimidated?"

He actually _shook_ with anger! "No," he replied in a dark voice. "This is!" He morphed into Sasquatch and raised his hands above his head.

I dropped my book and balled my glowing hands into fists. I didn't want to hurt him, but if it would bring him to his senses…

"Beast Boy," cried Robin suddenly.

I'm not sure if Robin saved me or Beast Boy. I was prepared to fight Beast Boy, but it would've wrecked me emotionally if I had.

"Leave her alone," Robin ordered.

Cyborg crossed his arms. "What's gotten into you, man?"

"You are behaving like a Royal Zargnarf," Starfire told him angrily.

So it wasn't just me he was being rude to? He had been this way all day?

Beast Boy morphed back into his human form and stormed past me with a glare. I watched him walk up to the other Titans. "Look," he said. "_This_ is who I am, now. You guys don't like it? Tough!"

Robin frowned at him. "Fine. If _this_ is how you wanna act, do it somewhere else. None of us are interested."

Beast Boy began to breathe heavily, as if somehow this would release some of his anger. He started to lunge at Robin, but stopped.

Robin tensed up, as if he was also prepared to fight Beast Boy.

Beast Boy chuckled. It was a mean laugh, short and crisp. "That's what I thought." He stormed off to his room.

I went back to mine; I no longer wanted to be in the Tower. _Beast Boy_ was being _rude_? It didn't make any sense.

A voice inside me told me that maybe I was the cause of his new personality. I _had_, after all, been teasing him a lot lately. Maybe he finally got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore.

I made up my mind to apologize to him for real.

An animalistic scream broke through the silence in my room.

I ran out. "Who's there," I asked. It hadn't been a scream from one of the other Titans. Unless—"Beast Boy?" I asked as I walked over to his room.

From behind his door, I could hear two different sets of growling. I know it was two sets because one set started to overlap the other and broke off sooner, too. I started to open the door, but I jumped backwards as something from the other side punched it four times. The door fell to the ground with a crash.

I glanced up, into the darkness of Beast Boy's room and saw a large creature as it exited. It was hard to determine what it was—it was a wolf, but it was crossed with something else—but I knew that I would remember its singed brown fur.

The werebeast turned and locked eyes with me. I was so shocked by the creature, that I didn't know how to react. It lunged at me and dug its sharpened fangs into my shoulder.

I heard a scream, and only later realized that it was my own.

Someone screamed my name.

The werebeast grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder. I caught a glimpse of a green werebeast that was slumped on the ground.

Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy," I whispered as I tried to reach out to him.

He sat up and growled at the werebeast that had me in his hold. The werebeast growled back and jumped out of Beast Boy's window.

The pain from my shoulder was intensified as the werebeast tumbled to the ground, dropping me in the process. He quickly picked me up by the hood of my cloak and carried me off again as Beast Boy chased after us.

I did my best not to drown—which is hard when you're being forced to intake water as a werebeast swims to the city. I even tried to fight against the creature, but I was rendered useless by my torn shoulder.

The werebeast found his way to dry land and ran through the streets. We were moving so fast that I couldn't tell where we were. I think we were in the downtown area, but I can't tell you for sure.

The werebeast jumped over a gate. The spikes on the top caught the edge of my cloak and yanked me out of his hold. The werebeast got up quickly as growls from Beast Boy could be heard and picked me up in his teeth once more.

We traveled underneath the city, in the sewers. It was from there that I lost track of where we were.

I cried out in pain when I felt teeth sink into the arm without the torn shoulder. Beast Boy pulled me away from the werebeast and placed me on the ground. He tackled the werebeast to the ground and snapped at its neck.

The werebeast threw Beast Boy off of him and into the sewer wall. The werebeast moved toward Beast Boy and raised his fists above his head.

"_No_!" I cried as I used every effort I had to raise my hand and push the werebeast away from Beast Boy. I managed to draw his attention away from Beast Boy.

The werebeast left Beast Boy alone and charged at me instead. He pinned my arms to the ground, with my torso underneath his body, and snapped at me. His teeth caught on to the pin on my cloak and he tore it off.

"Let me go," I begged.

The werebeast growled and leaned down to sniff my hair.

Adonis.

It made sense. The chemicals must've had an effect on him and Beast Boy.

Beast Boy roared loudly as Adonis picked me up with a giant hand. He grabbed a piece of rubble that had broken off the wall he'd destroyed and threw it at Adonis.

Adonis stumbled backwards from the attack. He growled at Beast Boy and then threw me into the wall.

Red blobs and stars mixed together as my head cracked against solid rock.

I sank into nothingness.

Darkness leaned on me, panting in my ear.

And then there was Beast Boy.

He smiled at me. "So what do you say, Raven? Think we could work out?'

I frowned. "We're wrong for each other, Beast Boy. We're basically incompatible." Basically? We _are_ incompatible.

"Well," said Beast Boy as he scratched the back of his head, "about that…I think I could _possibly_ change your mind."

"About what?"

"Being incompatible. I think we could be, sort of, fairly compatible if…"

"If," I said as the silence dragged on. I hate when people don't get to the point of things.

"Well, if you could bring yourself to kiss me."

Again, I was shocked by Beast Boy. "_Kiss_ you?"

"Yeah, I know it's a radical concept. I was pretty sure you wouldn't go for it."

"Would you kiss a three-hundred-pound gorilla?"

He blinked twice. "Oh, thank you."

"I don't mean you look like one."

"Don't tell me, let me guess," he said with a smile. "I smell like one?"

I laughed. Actually laughed! "Close enough." I watched him sideways. Suddenly, I decided that if this was a dream, I would do whatever I wanted to. "Alright, I'll kiss you."

It was a little awkward, lining up to get the position right. I'd never kissed a boy before—dream or otherwise—but once I started, I found it was simple.

And electrifying. All the sensations I'd felt from my emotions only intensified.

Afterward, Beast Boy pulled away. "There. You see," he said shakily.

I took a few deep breaths. "I suppose that's what it feels like to fall into a black hole."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, I mean—it was interesting." Different from anything I'd ever felt before. And I had the feeling that _I_ would be different from now on, that I could never go back and be the same person I had been.

So who am I now? Somebody fierce, I think. Somebody who isn't told what she has to do or feel or think. Somebody who is her own person.

Too bad it's a dream.

Adonis suddenly knocked Beast Boy to the ground.

I turned and faced him, but my arms felt heavy. I noticed bruising and scratches that traveled from my shoulders to my forearms. I fell to my knees from the pain.

Adonis morphed into the werebeast. It turned toward me and opened its snarling mouth. Then the creature—it wasn't really a person anymore—broke off and turned sharply. Beast Boy was moving.

Beast Boy sat up and looked around dazedly. He saw me, and his eyes seemed to focus. Then he looked at the thing Adonis had become.

"You—get away from her!" he shouted in a voice I'd never heard before. A voice filled with deadly fury. I saw him change position in a swift, graceful motion, gathering his muscles under him to jump.

The werebeast jumped first.

Beast Boy ducked under him and ran toward me. He pushed me behind him. "Raven, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I told him. "You've got to get out of here, Beast Boy. He'll kill you."

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"Go! I can take care of myself," I said.

And _that_ was when Adonis came down, teeth parted, and Beast Boy pitched forward unconscious.

I awoke at once as an animalistic scream tore through the night again.

I sat up and put my hand to my head. "Beast Boy," I whispered.

"Rest," said Starfire as she put her hand on my shoulder. "You are safe. He can no longer harm you."

The pieces clicked together as I realized what had happened and how I had come to be here. "He didn't hurt me. He _saved_ me."

"From what," she asked.

"Adonis," I told her.

She forced me to go back to sleep, told me to wait. She told me not to worry. She said that Robin and Cyborg would bring back Beast Boy and that he would be okay.

I worried for him. I _prayed_ for him. I hoped that this was one of those times that the person who answers prayers would choose to answer mine.

He returned, but he wouldn't look at me. Cyborg took him to the other room and ran some tests on him. After a while, Beast Boy left, and Cyborg returned to me.

"Is he alright," I asked.

"Should be fine now," he replied.

"Where is he?" I stood up and made my way toward the door.

Cyborg put his hand on my shoulder. "He doesn't wanna talk to anyone."

"He'll talk to me," I told him as I left. I found Beast Boy outside, sitting at the shore by the water.

He heard me coming. "So…he was the one who hurt you, right? Not me?"

Thinking about the event made my knees shake. I grabbed my shoulder to keep from falling. "He broke into the Tower to attack you, and wound up attacking me, too."

Beast Boy groaned. "I can't believe I ate meat." He turned his head to look at me. "I acted like a jerk. I'm sorry."

I should be the one apologizing. If I hadn't riled him up, maybe it wouldn't have turned out like this. "You weren't yourself," I told him, trying to ease the guilt.

"Cyborg says the chemicals at the lab messed with my DNA, unleashed something…primal."

"And he gave you an antidote. You're better now."

"Yeah," he said sadly. "But that thing—that _beast_—it's still inside me. And it's still there. I can feel it."

"Good," I told him as I sat down beside him.

"If it wasn't for that beast, I might not be here right now. Having that thing inside doesn't make you an animal; knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man."

He smiled. "Maybe you should call me Beast _Man_ from now on." He stood up and placed his hands on his hips.

I frowned at him and crossed my arms. "We're having a moment here—don't ruin it." I winced as crossing my arms proved to be too painful.

"Raven," Beast Boy as he sat back down. "You know I would never hurt you, right?"

Yes, I know. I just don't understand why.

"It doesn't matter how much we fight, or how many insults you hurl at me—I would _never_ hurt you. You're my friend. I know that deep down, you care about me. And that's enough."

I'm glad he can see that. Sometimes, I wonder about the nature of my true feelings. "And I would never hurt you," I told him, because that is what you say in a situation like this. You make promises to each other.

And you hope that you can keep them.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Titans East

After that, I returned to my "normal" relationship with Beast Boy—he annoyed me just as he always did, and I always had something snarky to say to him in return.

Right now, we were at the part where he annoys me. This time, he'd managed to _glue_ my hands to his game controller. Why didn't he just ask Robin to play? Robin would've agreed—he likes those things.

I was sitting on the couch, trying to get the controller out of my hands without ripping off any skin. It's more difficult than you would think.

The other Titans were calling Cyborg, who had been sent to Titans East to help them out.

"Robin calling Cyborg," said Robin. "Robin calling Cyborg."

"What's up," aid Cyborg as his image appeared onscreen.

Starfire smiled. "Oh, hello friend who I am missing already. The sight of you makes my eyes sore."

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "It's been _totally_ lame here without you. Raven stinks at video games! It's like she isn't even trying!"

I frowned. "Just because you glued the controller to my hands doesn't mean I wanna play."

He laughed.

Since I was unable to move my hands, I used my powers to pull his boxers over his head. I smiled at his misery.

"So, how goes the cross-country trip," said Robin.

"Just dandy," Cyborg replied with a strained voice. "It's, like, eighty below, the hail's messin' up my paint job, and _why did I volunteer for this_?"

Beast Boy undid my torture and jumped forward. " 'Cause after Brother Blood stole your blueprints and used them to attack us, Aqualad and Bumble Bee tracked him to Steel City; so now they're starting up the Titans East to take him down; and you're headed out there to help the new team set up their Tower." He sighed.

Robin said, "The Titans East need your technical know-how."

_We_ need his technical know-how too, of course. Good thing this cross-country trip isn't one-way.

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "And maybe if I stick around long enough, I'll get another chance to bring down Blood." He slammed his fist down on the dashboard. "Personally!"

"And even if you don't," said Robin with a tolerant smile, "a little time away from home might do you good."

You've got _that_ right! Cyborg's been a little…different lately. And I'm not the only one who's noticed.

"Agreed," said Starfire. "You have been somewhat lobster-y lately." She smiled, as if that would take away her comment.

Everyone stared at her in confusion. I realized that they didn't know what she meant. I stood up and went to her side. "I think she means 'crabby'," I told them all. While I was up, I tried using my powers to separate the controller from the glue on my hands.

"Besides," said Beast Boy as I freed my hands. "Someone's gotta show these copy-cats what being a Titan is all about."

I flung my controller into him as Robin turned off the transmission. I started to pick up the book I'd brought into the living room, but Beast Boy stopped me.

"But, Raven, _please_," he begged. "Just one more game!"

"No." I looked up and noticed that Robin was still sitting at the computer. I left Beast Boy to his video game and walked over to him. "Is everything alright?"

"I hope so," said Robin without looking at me.

I could tell that he was worried. Even without my powers and our bond, anyone would've been able to tell that he was worried about Cyborg leaving. If he could, I bet Robin would've sent someone else. Someone who would've dreaded the trip more. Someone who would've longed to return home sooner.

Someone who wasn't gunning for _his_ job.

"Cyborg," I said slowly, trying to think of how I could word my next sentence. You must be careful not to say the wrong things. People get the wrong ideas that way. "He has some things he needs to work out. I think this trip will be good for him."

"But will it be good for _us_," he asked.

I didn't know how to answer that. I wanted to tell him "yes", but how could I when it was likely that the answer could be a "no" as well? If I'm going to lie to him, I want it to be about me. I don't want to lie about things that can or cannot be.

I've spent a lot of time with Cyborg. He takes care of me and treats me the way I suspect an older brother would. I know his desires and dreams. "Cyborg won't leave the team."

But I also know his doubts and fears. "No matter what, Cyborg won't leave us."

He gave me a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I'm right more times than I'm wrong. But even in this case, I'm not sure if I can believe in myself.

I spent the better half of my afternoon with Starfire, who insisted that we all watch her favorite program "World of Fungus". Though educational, it was fairly boring—even for me. I watched it though, because I know it means a lot to her, and because that's what friends do, I guess.

When it was finally over—she happened to catch a marathon of the series—I went up to the roof. I figured that if I didn't want to be bothered, I should put some effort in hiding. If anyone wanted to bother me, it'd be all too easy just to go to my room and do so. I pulled my feet underneath me and began to meditate.

I had thought about going to my favorite café in the city, but the truth was that I wasn't in the mood for it. Normally I'd go just for the sake of possibly seeing Goth Boy—he's almost as negative as I am, and he has a delightfully dark aura—but I haven't been as…interested in him as of late.

This is also not a normal situation. I hate to say it, but I'm starting to miss Cyborg too. He's only been gone for two days, though. You'd think it'd take more time to miss a friend.

A friend.

There was a time when I wouldn't have described any of the Titans as my friend. I've never had any before. It's a different experience, having people around you that you can call your "friends".

In a way, it makes life even more difficult. Think of all the times I now have to spend worrying about their safety! How's Cyborg going to do on his own, with a team of untrained heroes? How can we expect them to take care of him? They're _bound_ come up against some trouble—after all, untrained or not, they _are_ Titans.

That is not my biggest fear, though. I am just as worried for Cyborg's safety as much as I am worried about any Titan's safety.

But just like my personal relationships with each of the Titans, I am worried about Cyborg for a more personal reason.

My biggest concern is whether or not Cyborg will, in fact, return to us. I'm afraid that the human side of him will be tempted with the chance to be with his own team for a little while. If he were completely robotic, maybe he'd be able to make more logical decisions.

Listen to yourself, Raven! You cannot assume that his humanity will be the downfall of your team! What if the logical decision would be to leave?

Maybe it will be his humanity that returns him to us.

"Hey, Raven," said Beast Boy suddenly as he joined me on the roof.

So much for not being bothered. I sighed, but didn't open my eyes or turn his way.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Watching the sunset," I told him.

"The sun set hours ago."

I frowned. Of course it had. You'd think that I would've been able to tell that, despite the fact that my eyes were closed. "I'm meditating now."

"Oh," he replied. I could sense his presence beside me.

I let out a long sigh and stood up. "What do you want?"

"Would you—"

"I'm not playing any video games," I told him, knowing that he would probably be asking me that.

"Please," he begged.

I was saved from having to answer him when Robin's voice came over our T-communicators: "Titans, trouble!"

I encased me and Beast Boy in a ball of black energy and took us to the living room. When we got there, Robin was calling Cyborg. I frowned. _This_ was the "trouble"? If he had wanted us all to be present so that we could talk to Cyborg, he could've just told us.

"Robin calling Cyborg," he said. "Robin calling Cyborg."

Cyborg didn't seem too pleased to be called. "Hey, Robin."

"How are things," he asked as Cyborg moved into a different room.

"It's goin' great! New Tower's up, we took our first bad guy down, and we're all set to start lookin' for Brother Blood."

"Good. Then you can head home," he told him.

"But—"

"They'll have to find Brother Blood without you, Cyborg. Professor Chang has escaped from prison. I need you here. Robin, out." He ended the transmission.

So there _is_ actual danger. "So where are we headed," I asked him.

"Professor Chang has been stealing robotic parts all around the city. I've tracked him down to this location," he said as he showed us the computer screen. "Titans, go!"

Getting to the location was a little difficult. Without the T-car, Starfire was forced to carry Robin while Beast Boy and I flew ahead. I wondered if Cyborg would make it to the fight in time, even with the T-car's speed.

I also couldn't help but wonder how Professor Chang had escaped from jail. True, he was a pretty dangerous villain, but he had no super powers and no gadgets! Unless the jailers were dumber than we had realized, there was no way that Professor Chang could've escaped from jail.

Not _alone_, at least.

He was busy ordering his minions around when we appeared. "I guess the Teen Titans aren't going to show up today." His wrinkled face pulled up into an ugly grin.

"Guess again, Chang," said Robin. "Titans, go!"

Chang's minions set their phasers to an appropriate setting and charged forward.

I flew into the air and dodged their shots. One came so close to my head that I thought my face was going to get a burn. I turned and pushed a handful of them backwards.

A loud cry warned me to duck. I looked behind me after Beast Boy had been thrown into the wall. He shook off his injuries and stood up. "Where's Cyborg?"

That was a great question. He should've at least been _close_ to our location. He didn't seem to be anywhere.

"I don't know," said Robin as he tripped a line of minions with his metal staff. "Keep fighting!"

I shielded Starfire before she could be blasted with their phasers. When I dropped the shield, she shot eye blasts at the group of minions in front of her. I took hold of their phasers and broke them apart.

I was suddenly thrown forward as one of the minions stuck its phaser into my back. I sank into the night.

When I awoke, Beast Boy was shaking my shoulder. "Raven, wake up!"

I sat up and pulled my hood off. I squinted in the light of the sun. "What happened?"

"Professor Chang got away," said Robin gruffly as he helped Starfire to her feet. Obviously, they'd been knocked out as well.

"What about Cyborg?"

Starfire hung her head. "He did not show," she told me sadly.

Fear struck my heart. Why would Cyborg _choose_ not to show up when he knew we needed him?

"We need to get back to the Tower," said Robin.

We went back as quickly as possible. When we reached the living room, Robin made us leave so that he could talk to Cyborg "alone".

Beast Boy grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door after it closed.

"What are you doing," I asked him.

"We're gonna listen in," he told me.

"We should not be listening in on Robin's conversation when he specifically asked us not to," said Starfire with a guilty face.

"It'll be fine, Star. It won't hurt anybody."

For once, I had to agree with Beast Boy. I didn't see this hurting anyone. I pressed my ear to the door and listened to the transmission.

"Cyborg, what are you still doing there," Robin asked. "I told you we want you back home." He didn't mention our defeat.

"Robin, I _am_ home," said Cyborg decidedly. "I've decided to stay on permanently, as leader of Titans East."

No, Cyborg. You weren't supposed to leave. You were supposed to realize that you wanted to remain with us. I looked at the others, and they seemed just as surprised as I was.

"But, Cyborg, we need you."

"Sorry, man. They need me more."

The transmission must've cut off, because it was silent in the living room for a long time.

"You can come in now," said Robin. I should've known that he'd expect us to be listening in.

My feelings were so numb that I don't even remember Robin confirming the fact that Cyborg had left our team. It had actually happened. As much as I had hoped that it wouldn't, it had.

Cyborg had left the team, and he was going to be the leader of our _subdivision_.

"Raven," said Robin. I realized that the others had left us. He walked me back to my room.

"Robin," I said as I turned around to face him.

"You should get some rest." He walked the hall—past Cyborg's room—and entered his without another word to me.

I barely got any sleep that night. I still couldn't believe that Cyborg had left our team. It's not the first time, but I was afraid that _this_ time, it would be permanent.

What is the matter with you, Raven? Didn't you believe that Cyborg would come back to the team? You cannot give up your hope just because it looks bad.

There _is_ no hope! There never was! Cyborg was always destined to leave us.

And he was always destined to come back.

The next morning, I got up and found Beast Boy and Starfire outside the living room, with their ears pressed to the door again. They must not have gotten a good sleep last night, either—I'd never seen them up so early.

I must've come in on the later part of the conversation, because it seemed like Robin was already starting to feel a little defeated.

"And you're _sure_ there's nothing I can say to change your mind," said Robin. Famous last words of someone who's about to give up. I willed Robin not to. If _anyone_ would get Cyborg to realize he'd made a mistake, it was him.

"No, man," said Cyborg. "I'm stayin' in Steel City as leader of Titans East. That's it, end of discussion."

"Well, could you at least tell me _why_? I mean, I'm losing a member of my team, here." This was starting to sound more like a line from one of our movies where the couple breaks up. In a way, I guess it was like that. Having a team is the same as being in a relationship. "And it's not like I can read your thoughts."

"They _need_ me. And this is my big chance! I'm ready to show people what I can do! I'm ready to grow up! To be a man!"

"And what about Brother Blood?"

"What about him?"

"I know how badly you want to catch him. And _I_ know a thing or two about being _obsessed_ with your target." Good, Robin. Make it personal. Relate to him. "Look, I just worry about what you're getting yourself into."

And we've lost him. I can feel it. The moment he made it sound like a bad thing, I knew that Cyborg's rebellious teenage nature—the same kind we all have within ourselves—would spark.

"_You_ think I can't handle it," cried Cyborg.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. Man, this is supposed to be a good thing!"

It's not.

"My own Tower!" cried Cyborg.

You have _our_ Tower.

"My own team," yelled Cyborg.

You have a team.

"Why can't you just be happy for me," Cyborg asked.

"Because you're already on a team!" Robin raged. Good, Robin. Make him realize what he had. "_My_ team!" Robin, we've lost him again. As long as you keep telling him that _you're_ in charge, he's going to pull away from us. "And you can't just quit!"

He has before.

"I can, and I did," cried Cyborg. "Which means I don't have to put up with _you_ tellin' me what to do anymore!"

"So now this is _my_ fault?"

"_It's not about you_!" Even if I had been in my room, I probably would've heard that part of the conversation.

"No," said Robin, understanding what he meant. "It's all about _you_. Because that's all _you_ care about. You talk about being a man, but if you can turn your back on us after _everything_ we've been through, you're nothing but a _spoiled child_!"

Probably not the best thing to say to someone who's threatening to leave. Robin's right, of course, but it probably could've been said at a different time. I'm all for telling people the truth head on, but I've had to learn that without tact, the truth doesn't mean anything.

"I'm _staying_," Cyborg growled, making it hard to hear him. "I don't care what you say; I don't care what you do. And right now, I don't care if I ever _see_ you again."

Robin cut the transmission and called us into the room. We sat on the couch in front of him and waited for him to say something.

When it became obvious that Robin wasn't going to talk to us, Beast Boy said, "So, he's coming back, right? I mean, he's quit before, but he always—"

Robin shook his head.

Beast Boy sighed. "Dude," he said in defeat.

Starfire stood up. "Then, who will shout the 'boo-yah' when we are victorious in battle?"

"Who's gonna laugh when I make fun of Beast Boy," I asked.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "And who's gonna beat me at video games, and fall for my practical jokes, and shoot spitballs at the back of my head, and watch dumb movies with me, and barf when I feed him tofu?"

"This isn't about us," said Robin. "It's a good opportunity. We have to let him go, no matter how much we're going to miss him."

"But, Robin," said Starfire, "if _we_ are not there, who will make sure that he is safe?"

"Cyborg's old enough to take care of himself." Robin stood up and walked out the room.

"Robin," I said after following him.

He didn't turn to look at me. "Still think he'll come back to us," Robin asked me with something that sounded like a sarcastic chuckle.

"I do," I told him.

He turned toward me with a raised eyebrow. The look probably would've been more surprised if I'd been able to see his eyes through his mask. "That's pretty hopeful of you, Raven. I'm surprised to see you so confident."

"Isn't that what you tell us to do? Have confidence in your friendship."

He gave that strangled chuckle again. "I don't think he's coming back this time, Raven. It doesn't matter how much I tell him we need him."

"That's because he doesn't know how much _he_ needs _us_. Just like you said, it's not about us. It's about him. Unless he realizes his need for us, Cyborg won't come back."

"And what do you expect me to do about that?"

"Give him some space. Maybe he just needs a little room to breathe."

Suddenly, over our T-communicators, we heard a bunch of static sounds. I recognized Cyborg's voice on the other end. "Cyborg calling Robin! Cyborg calling Robin," he yelled. "Mayday! I need—"

The transmission cut off.

"Still think he needs his space," Robin asked me as we rushed back to the living room. "It sounds like Cyborg's in trouble," he told the others.

Beast Boy frowned. "Doesn't he have the Titans East to help him now?"

"And did he not require to not see our faces again," asked Starfire with sad eyes.

"We've got to put our feelings aside," I told them all.

"Raven's right," said Robin. "Our friend needs help, and he called _us_. Titans, move out!" He led us to the hangar, where we found the T-ship.

It's a good thing we don't need five people to drive it—it still felt weird without Cyborg operating the engine portion of it.

When we got to their Tower, all the lights were out. We parked the T-ship on the cliff above it, and Robin had me bring everyone inside.

We found Cyborg strapped to their ops center, and the team was making their way to him with a handful of tools. There were four robots that looked like Cyborg lined up against the walls.

"Okay, team," said Cyborg nervously. "Now would be a _great_ time to just stop obeyin' Blood and remember I'm your leader!"

Beast Boy pounced on Aqualad in the form of a lion. I used my powers to split the rest of the team up. Starfire and Robin took out the robots.

"The Titans," cried Brother Blood. The sight of him almost made me sick. He had carved out half of his body to model himself after Cyborg. I guess the robot look isn't meant for everybody.

"I'll be honest, Blood," said Robin as we stood in front of our friend. "You don't look so good."

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "Does that stuff get cable or—"

"Silence," cried Brother Blood as he raised his hand at us and shot out a sonic blast.

I raised _my_ hand and shielded us from the attack.

"If I can't disassemble _you_," said Brother Blood to Cyborg, "I'll just have to experiment on your new friends. Pity. Trial and error is such a messy process." He and the Titans East disappeared after a flash of red light.

Steel coverings encased the room, trapping us inside.

Starfire pulled off the metal restraints that held Cyborg up. He fell to his knees in front of us with a distraught look on his face. She placed his hand on his shoulder and helped him to his feet. "You are…okay?' I could tell that she was trying to keep her voice impassive.

"I'm not hurt, but I'm a long way from 'okay'," he said sadly. "What are you guys doin' here?"

"An old friend called for help," Robin told him as he stepped forward.

"I thought they jammed my transmission."

"The signal was pretty garbled, but we got the message."

"And it looks like we got here just in time," I said as I looked back at the steel coverings.

Cyborg hit his fist against the table. "Some leader I turned out to be. Been in charge less than a week and I've already lost my entire team."

"No you haven't," said Robin. "Not yet. There's still time to save them."

"So what's the plan?"

"You tell me. If anyone's going to know how to stop Blood, it's you. This is your enemy, your technology, your mission. The team is yours to lead."

"Alright," said Cyborg. His voice seemed to perk up a bit. "Well, I guess we need to head out and—"

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "we're kinda locked in."

"Not for long. I put this place together; I can tear it apart." He charged forward and gave the steel covering a clean uppercut. Once outside the walls, he pointed toward the ceiling. "Raven, think you can-"

I reached up to the ceiling panels with my powers and lifted them so that we could get into the ceiling. We crawled around for a while, behind Cyborg, and followed him silently as he gave us a description of the Titans East and their powers. When we reached our goal, we waited for the robots to pass by, and then Cyborg gave me a nod.

I removed the floor panel again, and we dropped down. I followed Cyborg to the corner and watched as the army disappeared behind the door at the end of the hallway. The likeness of Cyborg and the robots was too perfect. "So, when they made you, I guess they _didn't_ break the mold."

He smiled at me and then turned around. "Okay, I never told anybody this, but my electronic eye can't see in low ultraviolet. If these things have my eyes, a simple blue-shift _should_ make us invisible."

Should?

His flashlight shone around us.

"You sure this is gonna work," Beast Boy asked. "'Cause I can still see me."

Cyborg nodded. "Stay close, team. If you slip outside my range, I can't cover you." He led us to the door, but before we could open it, one of the robots did.

I covered Starfire's mouth to keep her from screaming. If they really couldn't see us, making sound would doom us all.

The robot passed right by us without so much as glancing our way. Beast Boy even made faces at him as he went on.

Cyborg motioned for us to follow him, and we did. He led us through their Tower, to their basement. Once we were away from the robots, Cyborg dropped his blue light.

Professor Chang wheeled up a tray of robotic parts to Brother Blood, who was standing in front of the restrained Titans East.

He smiled and waved the professor away. "Oh, it's a very exciting time! True, not all of you will survive the experimental phase, and those of you who develop resistance, like Cyborg, will be deactivated and studied, but once the process is perfected, my upgraded students will not only be unstoppable, they'll be utterly incapable of breaking free from my control ever again."

"No," said Bumble Bee suddenly as she shook her head. I realized that she was shaking off the mind control. "No. This is wrong."

"I'm sorry," said Brother Blood as he raised her head. "What was that, dearie?"

Her eyes regained its red glow. "Nothing, Headmaster. Please proceed."

"Or maybe you should quit while you're ahead," said Cyborg. He swooped into the room and pushed Brother Blood back with his cannon. We fell in step behind him.

"Students," said Brother Blood with a smile, "attack!" He disappeared.

"Go easy on 'em," Cyborg ordered as they squared off with us. "They're still my friends. Titans, go!"

Mas and Menos spun around me and Beast Boy with super speed. I flew into the air with a green bat, and then found my way into the fight.

There was a guy in a mask who was shooting arrows at me—Speedy. He looked as if he and Robin could've been related somehow. It was almost frightening. I caught his arrows with my powers and sent them flying back toward him.

He jumped out of the way and shot another arrow at me. I started to dodge this one, but it broke apart into many pieces and blasted me to the ground. I looked up and realized that he was taking aim again.

Suddenly a green gorilla chased him away. When Speedy was gone, the green gorilla came down to my level and helped me to my feet.

He morphed back into Beast Boy. "You okay?"

Before I could answer, we were both knocked off of our feet by a quick-moving force. The twins.

"Raven, split 'em up," cried Cyborg.

I stood up and unearthed the ground underneath them. A large rock broke apart their hands and sent them on opposite sides of each other.

Suddenly, Starfire flew past us, with a miniature Bumble Bee hot on her trail.

Cyborg looked toward Beast Boy and yelled, "Yo, BB!"

Beast Boy morphed into a green cheetah and leapt into Cyborg's arms. When he was thrown into the air, he changed into a frog and pulled Bumble Bee down with his tongue. I'd been inside Beast Boy's mouth before, and it hadn't been a pleasant adventure for my nose.

She crashed to the ground.

"Cyborg," cried Robin suddenly as Brother Blood appeared, only to snatch him away and disappear again.

Bumble Bee grew back to her full size and blasted Starfire to the ground. The rest of her teammates stood up and circled around us.

And _this_ is what we get for going "easy on 'em".

I immediately shielded myself from Speedy's arrows. When the dust settled, I jumped back to dodge his bow, which he was now using in a way that reminded me of Robin's metal staff. I caught the bow between my hands and managed to keep it away from my face. I didn't, however, manage to stop Speedy from tripping me.

No matter how many times you fall to the ground, it still hurts. It does, however, help you learn how to get up quickly. I flipped over myself to avoid Speedy's bow. He leapt at me and I shielded myself. If he was anything like Robin, he'd try another aerial attack.

It's frightening how alike they are.

Speedy jumped into the air again. Too bad I'd already anticipated that. I encased his body in black energy and threw him into the air.

"Headmaster," cried Aqualad suddenly.

Moments later, the doors opened and an army of robots flooded inside.

I moved closer to my friends. "Really wishing Cyborg was here," I said quietly.

They raised their cannons and fired.

I tried to shield us from the attack, but their collective force was too strong for me. My shield fell and we were blasted with immobilizing beams. We were the only ones who were hit. The Titans East had been struck too.

Guess they hadn't seen that coming.

We were suddenly teleported to the top of the roof. We were lined up in a circle above Brother Blood and Cyborg.

He looked horrible. He was missing all of his limbs and a good chunk of his chest. How had he survived that long?

"Cyborg," Robin groaned.

"No," Cyborg said as he looked around at all of us.

"You should've accepted my first offer, Cyborg," said Brother Blood as he used his powers to lift Cyborg up in the air. "I would've made a man out of you. And I still could, you know." His army of robots joined us on the rooftop.

Cyborg glared at him darkly. "You can take your offer and blow it out your—"

"Insolent child!" He grabbed the power core in Cyborg's chest. "Where is it, Cyborg? I've combed through your blueprints, peeled back your armor, stripped off your machinery, but _still_ you defy me! Where in this vile contraption is the part that allows you to resist?"

Cyborg's body began to emit a blue light. It pushed Brother Blood to the ground. "It's not in the circuitry, is it? It's not the _machine_ that resists you, it's _me_! My spirit!"

The robots began to dissolve. Their essence traveled to Cyborg and rebuilt his glowing blue body.

"That's the part you can't break," he told Brother Blood. He stood above his enemy with a powerful stance. "I don't need you to make me a man. I already _am_ one!"

Brother Blood stood up and tried to punch Cyborg, but Cyborg dodged him. He slammed his fist into the ground, breaking up the rock underneath Cyborg, but he didn't even move. It was like Brother Blood couldn't faze him anymore.

Brother Blood charged forward and threw a punch at Cyborg. Cyborg caught both of Brother Blood's hands in his and forced him to his knees before he broke off his hands.

The blue light from Cyborg traveled through Brother Blood and shone through his circuitry. Cyborg brought his foot up to Brother Blood's face and kicked him.

As the light in Brother Blood's machinery went out, Cyborg said, "Boo-yah."

We were lowered to the ground and released from Brother Blood's control.

"We're free," Aqualad cried, confirming it. His voice made little butterflies stir up in my chest. It was _great_ to see _him_ again.

"So," said Beast Boy as the sun rose behind us. "Are you, like, magic now?"

Cyborg smiled. "Pretty sure that was a one-time deal. Blood was tryin' so hard to hack into my brain; I guess I sorta hacked into his."

"Thanks for everything," said Bumble Bee as she shook Robin's hand. "Blood's in jail and we'll be stickin' around to make sure he stays there."

"Besides," said Aqualad, "I have a feeling he wasn't the only criminal in Steel City."

Robin turned toward Cyborg. "Well, I guess this is it."

Yes, now that the fight is over, we have to deal with our feelings.

"It is," said Cyborg with a smile. "For me." He joined our group and said to Titans East, "Thanks for the offer, team, but I already have a home. And _you_ already have a leader. You just need to listen to her."

Bumble Bee looked at him in surprise. She ran forward and threw her arms around him. "See you later, Sparky."

I'm pretty sure if Cyborg could blush, he would've done it there. They broke apart from each other so that Cyborg could pack the T-car. I had missed the sight of that thing almost as much as I had missed the sight of Cyborg himself.

I was in the middle of saying goodbye to Aqualad when Beast Boy hurried me to the T-ship. He said that _he_ was in a hurry because _Starfire_ wanted to get away from her two new admirers, Mas and Menos. Starfire seemed fine when we got on the T-ship, though.

Robin and Cyborg said a few words to each other before Robin joined us in the T-ship. Cyborg followed us in the T-car after a final wave to Titans East.

When we got back to the Tower, Robin stayed back with me. "Looks like your advice came through," he said with a smile.

"It looks like _you_ came through. You brought him back, Robin."

"Thanks to you." He patted my shoulder and then left the room.

Thanks to me. There are lots things that are "thanks to me". This is the only good one.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Birthmark

The next few days were pretty quiet. Beast Boy got a chance to prove himself when Control Freak escaped from prison and trapped us all inside the television broadcasts. To me, it only proved that he watches too much TV.

Then, when Robin left for training, we had a blast dressing up in Robin's clothes. Even _I_ felt a little cooler wearing the mask. I didn't think I would at first, but it was a great experience for us. At least, it was until Robin caught us. He wasn't angry about it, but it was embarrassing to have him catch us playing dress up with _his_ clothes.

Life went on, as it usually does.

And then it came. I don't know how I had allowed it to sneak up on me, but now it was here. And I wanted it to end.

Tomorrow would be my birthday.

The alarm sounded, startling me from my trance. I stood up and dressed myself in my cloak.

Twenty-eight minutes until my birthday.

Robin pointed to the barge outside our Tower and said something about Dr. Light. I was too busy counting the remaining minutes to my birthday to listen to what he was saying.

When we got to the barge, Dr. Light was hooking himself up to some kind of machine. "Once I drain the energy from 15,000 barrels of oil," he said, "I'll flood the city in never ending daylight."

I pulled the tubes that led to his suit out as Robin threw two of his explosives Dr. Light's way. Cyborg blasted through a piece of the machine—he'd been aiming for Dr. Light, but the sly old man had jumped up onto the level above us.

"You know, Dr. Light," said Robin, "for a guy obsessed with illumination, you're not very bright."

Twenty-three minutes to my birthday.

"Next time, if you're looking to steal something, you might wanna pick a target we can't see from our _living room_," I told him.

He aimed his gloves at us and shot two beams of light.

I sank into the floor to avoid the blasts.

Twenty-two minutes to my birthday.

When I emerged, Cyborg had been thrown overboard, Starfire was underneath a pile of boxes, and Dr. Light was on the ground.

"No one defeats Dr. Light," he cried. "No one!"

I did. Didn't he remember? Yes, I suppose he probably did. I appeared behind him and towered over him. From my cloak, I produced a pair of long, black tentacles. "Remember me," I asked him in a deep voice.

His face paled. Yes, I'm sure he remembered _now_. "I'd like to go to jail now, please," he told the others in a soft voice. He sat down at my feet and hugged his knees to his chest.

Normally I would feel bad about making a man relive the trauma that I put him through, but we were wasting time. There was only twenty minutes left until my birthday. I needed to get home.

Cyborg climbed back over the side of the boat and spit out a stream of water. Gross. He checked his arm and smiled. "Alright," he cried. "The butt-kickin's over and it's almost midnight! Time for donuts! Yeah!"

Robin and Starfire grabbed Dr. Light by his arms and started to lead him away.

I finished the calculations in my head—we wouldn't make it back to the Tower before midnight. "I'll see you back at the Tower," I told them all.

"But, Raven," said Robin as he stopped.

"You do not wish to enjoy the nuts of dough," Starfire asked me. "It is like eating sweet, tiny wheels!"

I would've loved to have been able to join them, but I couldn't. Not with my birthday on the way. "I just want to get home before tomorrow comes," I told her before I flew back to the Tower.

I made some herbal tea and then retreated to my room. By that time, it was midnight. I was officially sixteen years old. I let out a sigh. From this moment on, I no longer had _almost six months_ until my father came. From this moment on, I officially had two months.

_They_ officially had two months.

When the other Titans returned to the Tower, I didn't go out to meet them. Beast Boy came and knocked on my door a couple of times, but I didn't answer him. I stared at my clock, willing it to go faster.

I was finally able to fall asleep. When I awoke, I picked up my clock and saw that it was a little after noon. I sat on my bed and watched the clock intently while five hours passed by. When it was finally six o'clock, I sighed and leaned back on my bed.

"Six p.m.," I told myself. "Just six more hours, and it'll be over. Six more—"I gasped suddenly as something bumped against my door. I stood up and made my way over to it with caution. "Hello?"

No one was at my door. Instead of going back inside, I continued down the hallway. It'd probably been one of Beast Boy's pranks. If the Tower hadn't been so quiet and dark, I might've believed that statement more.

I reached the living room, which was just as dark as the rest of the Tower. Where was everyone? It wasn't like them to be asleep this early, the alarm hadn't gone off for trouble, and I doubted they would all leave without at least telling me where they were going.

Suddenly, the lights switched on, and the other Titans jumped out of their hiding places, yelling, "Surprise!"

I had been so prepared for the worst that I didn't know how to react to _this_. I screamed and fell through the floor.

"Uh, Raven," said Cyborg above me.

"It is merely us," Starfire told me, "your friends, with warm wishes for the day of your birth."

"I told you a surprise party was a bad idea," said Robin.

Once my heart had stopped racing, I resurfaced. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"Um," said Beast Boy, the obvious culprit. "Remember last night, how you made that big deal about 'tomorrow'? Well, we started wondering what 'tomorrow' was, so we did some snooping."

The other Titans glared at him.

"Okay, _I_ did some snooping. And I sort of found a restricted file in the off-limits area in the Titans' computer, and it kinda had your birthday on it."

My birthday was on a file? I hadn't even been aware that it was in the computer.

"And we have been preparing your celebration ever since," Starfire told me with a large smile.

Beast Boy strode over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "We put up tons of decorations."

Cyborg directed my attention to the table. "I baked my famous 8-layer cake with three kinds of frosting!"

"And I have assembled for you a traditional Tamaranian throknar—the crown of meat," said Starfire as she held up the foul-smelling thing.

I looked to Robin for help.

He didn't. "I hope this is okay," he said cautiously. "We just—"

"No. It's not. Look, I really appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I'm _not_ interested." I turned around.

Starfire said, "But there will be music, and the iced cream, and a strange game involving pins and the behind of a donkey."

Cyborg held up a green, purple, and gray piñata. "We got a piñata shaped like Beast Boy," he said with a smile. "You know you wanna smack it."

Yes, I did. I wanted to stay with my friends, but they didn't understand. None of them did. "I said _no_."

"Come on, Raven," said Beast Boy. "I know you hate fun, but it's your _birthday_—it's _special_! You can't let this day end without—"

"_No_!" I screamed at him, my anger and hatred for myself bubbling over. The banner congratulating me was ripped into pieces, the balloons popped, and the food exploded onto everything. I walked past Starfire and Cyborg and into the hallway.

Robin followed me. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"I just don't like parties."

"It's more than that. I can tell. We have a bond, remember? You've been inside my mind. Let me inside _yours_."

I wanted to tell him. But I couldn't. "Robin, you know me better than anyone. _You _should know there are places in my mind where you can't go—where no one should _ever_ go."

"I'm willing to try if you'll—"

"I can't."

"Tell me what's going on."

"Just trust me. If you knew anything about the day of my birth, you'd know there's _nothing_ to celebrate." I went back to my room and watched the clock for another three hours.

"Can't this thing go any faster," I said to no one in particular. My leg tapped furiously against the side of my bed. "I just want this day to be _over_!" My frustration boiled within me.

"Relax," I told myself. "Only a few hours to go. It might not even happen. Focus. Meditate. It'll be midnight before you know it."

I folded my legs underneath me and floated into the air. The clock joined me as I chanted. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azar—"I coughed suddenly. I tried to keep it down, but my throat felt as if it were burning.

I clutched my throat as bright orange flames encased my room. Nothing burned, but it didn't make the heat any better. I looked around in fear as the flames nipped at my feet.

"What you have concealed," said a deep voice, "you shall become. You have no other choice. Your destiny will be fulfilled." A flame molded itself into his symbol. It looked like the number five and an accent mark to the side of it. "The _Portal_ must be opened!"

I gasped. "_No_!" I cried.

The flames disappeared, and I was left sweating bullets onto my bed sheets. It took me a moment to catch my breath and calm down again. When I had, I heard someone knock on my door.

It was Robin.

"I heard you scream," he told me.

The alarm saved me from having to speak to him.

"Trouble," I said to myself, relieved that something was here to give me a distraction.

Apparently, there was some security breach at a factory. I don't see how that involves the Titans, but I would take anything to get out of staring at my clock for the next two hours and fifteen minutes.

"So who's the bad guy du jour," said Cyborg as we entered the factory. "Gizmo? Mad Mod? Killer Moth?"

Starfire shrugged. "The report simply stated there was an intruder."

Beast Boy smiled and said, "Well, whoever it is, we're gonna _totally_ kick their—"

"No," Robin whispered as he stopped and looked up.

I saw it too. Or, rather, I saw _him_ too.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Titans," said Slade. "A month? A year? A millennium?"

A month and four days, to be exact. I mustn't forget the day that I killed someone. Or _thought_ that I had killed someone.

"Far too long for my tastes, anyway. I was beginning to think I'd never see your smiling faces again."

"You…" said Cyborg. "How did you survive?"

"Terra took you down," Beast Boy informed him. "_Way_ down!"

Oh, but she didn't, actually. I did. That's another thing you don't know. Another thing I can't tell you.

Slade knows though. I keep hoping that he's another figment of Robin's obsessed imagination, but I can sense that he's real. He's back.

And he's probably coming to kill me.

"Slade," said Robin in a deep voice. "I don't know where you've been, but you shouldn't have come back. I'm still ready."

A mark on Slade's forehead began to glow red. He chuckled. "That's precious, Robin, but I didn't come back for _you_." His hands emitted an orange light, and he shot a large fireball at us.

I leapt into the air, but it followed me. I was right. He _had_ come back to kill me. I was frozen for a moment at the sight of the impending doom—but only for a moment. I transformed myself into a black raven and merged into the wall, away from the fireball.

Slade shot more flames at my friends. "Ever have one of those days where you just feel happy to be _alive_?"

We met up in the pipe section underneath him.

"Dude," said Beast Boy incredulously.

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed. "Since when can Slade do _that_?"

Slade jumped down to our level and faced us with his glowing orange hands.

"Not sure, but he won't be doing it for long," Robin vowed. "Titans, go!"

Slade created a column of fire to protect him from the blasts of Starfire and Cyborg. It lifted him into the air above us. Robin threw two devices into the fire that froze the entire thing, including Slade on top.

For a moment, I was relieved. He wouldn't be able to exact his revenge. He wouldn't be able to hurt me.

I shouldn't have been so hopeful.

Slade broke free and dropped down to the ground. I pieced up the sharpened pieces of ice and sent them hurtling toward him. Beast Boy, in the form of a gorilla, slammed his fists onto the ground beside Slade, who jumped backwards.

Starfire sent a star bolt his way, but Slade caught it in his glowing hands and sent it right back at her. She fell to the ground.

Cyborg picked up one of the giant tools and swung it at Slade. Slade didn't even move. He used his flames to heat up his body, and then he melted the part that would've hit him. "Whoa," said Cyborg in amazement.

"'Whoa'," Slade repeated. "That's it? No clever comment? I was looking forward to that."

I flew over to Slade just as Cyborg was thrown backwards into me. I'm not sure what hurt more, the feeling of my skin scraping against the ground, or the feeling of Cyborg crushing my body.

I stood up, but Cyborg didn't. "Cyborg," I said as I shook him. "Cyborg, wake up!" He was breathing, but it was dangerous to be unconscious in the middle of a battle. "I just want this day to _end_."

"I think we both know this day is far from over," said Slade as he jumped down beside me. "Hello, birthday girl. Ready for your present?"

I balled up a glowing fist and pushed him into the wall with my dark energy. I flew up to make sure he was down—that's the first thing about Slade. You always have to make sure he went down.

"I have a message for you," said Slade as he appeared out of the dust. He grabbed my left wrist.

Pain tore through my veins from the point of my wrist to my entire body. I fell to the cogs underneath me when my wrist was released. I glanced at it and realized that where my outfit had been torn, Slade's mark had been made.

Slade's entire body cackled with lightning. "It has begun," he said slowly as the lightning spread throughout the factory.

I stood up and watched as my friends scrambled around for their lives amongst the falling projectiles, open flames, and broken bridges. My eyes were caught by Robin, who had fallen and was about to be crushed by a rolling cog.

"_Stop_," I cried desperately. A black light emitted from my chest and encased the factory. Everything that moved froze in their places—even the flames! Things that were falling did not reach the ground. My running friends did not move. The falling cog did not crush Robin.

I was suddenly aware of the temperature drop. I hugged myself and looked up at Slade, who was frozen as well. "How did I—"

"You might be able to stop time, birthday girl, but you can't stop _me_." At least, I'd _thought_ he was frozen. "You can't stop any of it, really. I have to say, Raven, when I found out the truth, I was _very_ impressed." He made his way over to me.

I backed up until I was pressed against the wall behind me.

"All this time, I had _no_ idea. The _power_ lurking inside you…the _glorious_ destiny that awaits…it's always the _quiet ones_, isn't it?"

I held my hands to my ears in an effort to shut him out. It didn't work. I found another route and ran down it until I was another dead end.

"But, honestly, did you think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away? Today is the day it begins. You've known this all your life. It _is_ going to happen. And no matter what you wish, no matter where you go, no matter how you _squirm_, there is _nothing_ you can do to stop it."

I didn't want to hear him anymore. He was the culmination of all of my doubts, fears, worries—the truth. It was an idiotic decision, but I decided to keep running from him. I merged through the wall and flew over to Robin.

If I was going to do _anything_ today, I would save his life. At least _his_ has meaning. I placed my hand on his chest and wondered how I was supposed to move a man frozen in time.

I didn't have to wonder long, because my touch alone woke Robin up. "Raven," he said as he looked up at me.

I held a finger to my lips and glanced back at Slade, who was watching us. With a swoop of my cape, I took Robin away from the factory and to the middle of downtown. I knew that Slade would find me, but I hoped that this distance would at least delay him a little.

"What is going on," Robin asked me. "Why is Slade back? Where did he get those powers? How did you stop time?" He pointed toward the rest of the street.

I realized that my powers had not only affected the factory, but the city. I wondered if my powers had extended over the entire planet as well. "I'm not sure," I lied as I turned away from him. The mark on my forearm disappeared. "I never wanted this day to come. And when it did, I just wanted it to stop. I guess I got my wish."

"What is happening?"

"It's my birthday." If he knew what that meant, it would've been a more satisfying answer to him.

The good thing about time stopping is that enemies can't sneak up on you when they walk. I glanced up at the roof of the building behind us as Slade jumped down from it.

Robin stepped in front of me protectively and told me, "Raven, run!"

I did. At least, I tried to. I got halfway down the block when a car was blown off of the street, and Robin cried out in pain. I didn't save his life in the factory just to let him die here in the streets. I turned around and looked into the pool of fire in the middle of the street.

Slade came out of it without as much as a scratch. "I have a message for you," he told me, "and I _will_ deliver it, whether you like it or not. Skies will burn; flesh will become stone; the sun will set on your world, never to rise again!" He disappeared from my sight.

I turned just as he appeared behind me. He grabbed me by my shoulders and lifted me into the air. I screamed as the pain returned to my body. My foot swung out and caught his gut, forcing me to drop me. I put my hands over the new marks, hoping that this would make them go away.

"Time won't wait forever. You _can't_ run away from who you _are_."

I don't know who I am. "I can try," I growled as I forced myself to look at him. I ran down the street towards the fire as two large blocks of asphalt sandwiched Slade between themselves. "Robin," I cried as I moved all the chunks of asphalt.

I heard a cough behind me and a crash as Robin pushed aside another piece of the street. I helped him to his feet and ran to the cathedral at the end of the street. I hoped we'd find sanctuary there, at least for a little while.

I used my powers to open and close the doors as I led Robin to the front of the church. He collapsed onto his knees with a groan.

I laid his head on my lap and ran my fingers through his hair. "I shouldn't have dragged you into this—any of you. But you're in, and you need to know. I _need_ to tell you. When I was born, they looked into my future. On this day, the anniversary of my birth…something is supposed to happen. Something very bad. That's why I didn't want to celebrate. But just because you don't have a party doesn't mean it's not your birthday."

I still hadn't told him all of the truth, but it was the closest thing I could give him. I felt better even saying _that_ much. I wish I'd been able to tell the others. I would've felt even better if I had been able to tell them all at once.

Robin sat up. "The symbol…on his forehead. What does it mean?"

Suddenly, the doors of the cathedral burst open, and Slade walked in. He shot a fireball at us, separating me and Robin. When I turned around, all I saw were the flames…and Slade.

I imagined his smile behind his familiar mask. "It's just you and me now, kid."

I ran out of the cathedral as he shot another fireball at me. I told myself that Robin would be okay, because Slade's target was _me_. It was difficult not to look back at my follower, but I knew that a moment's delay would give him time to change targets. As long as I kept running, he would keep his focus on me.

"You're making this much more difficult than this needs to be," Slade told me as I tried to escape into an alley. He brought up a wall of fire in my path, stopping me. "The message must be delivered."

Not if I could help it. I became a raven and flew through the flames. Once I was on the other side, I dissolved from my soul-self and flew even faster through the streets. Slade followed close behind me. He didn't even seem to be putting up any effort while he kept up with me. I banked and cornered and ducked around buildings, but it didn't make that much of a difference.

I decided to try a different tactic. As I raced through the streets, I threw cars at Slade, hoping that they would slow him down.

They didn't.

As we passed through a crevice between two buildings, I cried, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The buildings smashed themselves together. I stopped to see if Slade had been caught in between. If not, I at least wanted to slow him down, even if by a fraction of a second.

The buildings fell apart suddenly, and from the dust, Slade appeared. He was so close to me that I didn't have time to run away from him. He tackled me onto the roof of the building underneath me.

I tried to run from him, but he grabbed onto my cloak. In my panic, the cloak and the back of my outfit tore off in his hands, and I fell to the ground.

"What you have concealed, you shall become," Slade cried. "You have no other choice."

"No!" I stood up and threw a punch at him. He caught my wrist, so I tried to attack him with my free hand. He caught that one too. All at once, pain entered my entire body.

"The message _will_ be delivered. Your destiny shall be fulfilled."

As marks grew on my body, my clothes fell off. I felt an excruciating pain in my head and realized that my hair was growing. Days and nights passed over the city in a matter of minutes, but the city itself didn't move an inch.

I fell to my knees as the pain neutralized my body. Red markings traveled from every visible part of my body.

I stood up and looked around the city. Everything had changed. The buildings lay in ruins, the sky was blood red, the rivers had turned to lava, and my friends had been turned to stone. "No," I whispered.

"Yes," Slade whispered back. "Look at it. Drink it in. Behold the world you are destined to create."

A large red demon with horns and four red eyes stood up amidst the destruction and roared victoriously. I knew at that moment that the deep voice in my room had been this creature. How could I have forgotten my father's voice? The voice of Trigon.

The voice of the Destroyer of Worlds.

"No," I told Slade. "I won't do it! This is just a vision. This _can't_ be real!"

Slade grabbed my shoulders and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "This _is_ the future. _Your_ future."

No. My friends have taught me that I can make my own future. I don't have to be this!

"It began the day you were born, and _nothing_ can stop it."

He's right. No one can stop it. Not me, not my friends, no one.

I shook my head. Where is your hope, Raven? The Titans have made it through everything that's been thrown at them! They can make it through this!

_No one_ can make it through _this_.

"This _will_ come to pass. I _will_ make sure of it. You're going to destroy the world, Raven."

I don't want to destroy the world. I'm supposed to be a hero. A good guy. Good guys don't destroy the world!

"It's written all over your face."

"_No_!" I screamed. I don't remember what happened after that. Somehow, time had started to pass again. I was falling through the air, and Robin caught me. I looked up into his face, expecting to see Slade for a moment.

Robin smiled at me. "Let's go home," he told me gently.

I nodded—or at least, I _tried_ to. I was in so much pain that I could barely move. The markings on my body had disappeared, but my clothes and hair were still in disarray. In the end, Robin proved to be not enough to get me back to the Tower. He called the other Titans, who made it out of the factory safely, and they met us downtown.

If the other Titans were surprised at my appearance, they did a pretty good job of hiding it. Either that or I was in so much pain that I couldn't tell. Cyborg stepped forward to carry me, but Beast Boy stopped him.

"I got this, dude," he told Cyborg. He wrapped his arms around me and helped me into the backseat of the T-car. He sandwiched me between him and Starfire, and kept a protective arm around my shoulders. "So, Raven," he told me softly as we started to drive off, "I like your new look."

I may have been in pain, but I was still me. "Make another joke like that, and I'll make you regret sitting beside me."

Starfire shushed me. "Rest, friend. We will be home soon."

I closed my eyes and felt my head fall onto Beast Boy's shoulder. He didn't complain, so I assumed that he didn't mind.

By the time we got home, my body had managed to heal the majority of my pain. The great thing was that it was officially five after midnight—the day _after_ my birthday. Beast Boy helped me back to my room and then left once I proved I was okay.

I changed my outfit and attached a new cloak around my shoulders. Then, even though Beast Boy had said that I looked nice with long hair, I cut it back to its original length. I looked down at my hands when I was done.

Something banged against my door. I opened it and found paper arrows telling me where to go. I followed the arrows to the living room and found the other Titans there with another party. This time, I'd been ready for them.

Beast Boy smiled nervously. "Um, surprise?"

"Look," said Cyborg. "We know you didn't want a party, but after…today…"

"We hope that you might reconsider," said Starfire.

Beast Boy took a step forward. "_You_ may not like your birthday, but _we're_ all glad you were born."

After a look around the room, my face fell into a frown. "We're going to need ice cream," I told them. They lightened up once they realized what I had said to them.

"Comin' right up," cried Beast Boy as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Cyborg followed him. "I'll cut the cake!"

"And _I_ shall fetch the throknar," said Starfire as she disappeared. There was _no way_ they'd be getting a crown of _meat_ onto my head. I think Beast Boy would be on my side in this case, seeing as he _is_ a vegetarian.

Robin looked up at me. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I will be," I told him as Beast Boy ran past me with tubs of ice cream.

"What you told me about your destiny…that something bad was supposed to happen…I guess it did. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it."

Robin, I admire you for trying to stop the bad thing, but that wasn't it. And now you've helped me to realize something. "No one could." And no one _can_.

"We _will_ find Slade. We'll figure out how he did what he did, and why he was after you." He put his hands on my shoulders. "But right now, you're safe. You're here with friends. It's over." He joined the others in making preparations for me.

I looked down at my hands as the marks appeared on my palms. "No," I whispered. "This was just the beginning."

"Hey, Raven, you gonna party or what," said Beast Boy as he waved me over.

I hid my hands until the marks had disappeared again, and I joined my friends at the table. We ate ice cream on top of the cake first. Then, afterwards, Starfire tried to place the crown of meat on my head. Cyborg swooped in and placed it upon his head instead, saying that _he_ deserved it because of his affinity for meat. Starfire didn't mind, so it was allowed.

She then suggested that we play Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We all used our powers, of course. Except for Beast Boy. He stuck me in my elbow with the pin. We ended the game because I threatened to use _Beast Boy_ for the donkey in our next game.

From there, we went straight for the Beast Boy piñata. It was more fun than I had anticipated, breaking up the candy-filled version of him. It allowed me to take out my frustration without really taking it out on anybody.

In the end, Beast Boy was the one who broke it. Of all people! We laughed about it while we ate more ice cream and cake.

After we watched the sun rise, Robin suggested that we all head to bed, in case there would be someone to fight in the later part of the day. I stayed behind and curled up on the couch.

"So," said Beast Boy as he slipped onto the seat beside me. "I bet you never had a party like _that_ in Azarath."

He's right actually. "This was my first birthday party."

He fumbled with his words for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I was forbidden to celebrate after the monks learned about my destiny. They said that it was unholy to celebrate something so evil. Since then, I've dreaded every birthday I've had."

"Because you knew you wouldn't get to celebrate?"

I shook my head. "Because I knew that with each birthday that passed, I was getting closer to this one."

"Well, forget what those old dudes said," he told me with a smile. "Birthdays are always meant to be celebrated. They're special." He locked eyes with me. "_You're_ something special to celebrate."

I hoped that the rays of the sun hid my blush. "You really think so?"

He rubbed his neck and dug into his pocket with his other hand. "Yeah. I even got you something." He held out a little black box to me.

I opened it, revealing a black pin of a raven.

"I mean, it's not much, but you had a birthday. I figured…what's a birthday without a present?"

"Thank you," I told him softly.

"You like it? Sweet! I told Cyborg it wouldn't be too much. Guess Chrome Drone doesn't know you as well as I do," he said with a fanged smile.

"I guess not." I stood up and said, "I'll see you this afternoon, Beast Boy."

"Yeah, sure," he said as he changed positions so that he was facing me.

I left the living room with the little black box and pinned it over my heart. It was perfect—I don't think I could've picked a better gift for me myself. Well, maybe that was a lie. After all, no one knows me better than me.

Beast Boy, however, does come pretty close.

I'll wear his pin until the end comes.

Which, according to Slade, _will_ be coming.


	18. Chapter Seventeen: The Prophecy

Slade's return wasn't the only weird thing to happen to us. Cyborg was transported back in time and helped out a war; and _Beast Boy_ somehow managed to stop an alien invasion of source called Newfu.

I, however, was trying to enjoy the time I spent with my friends. I was beginning to appreciate the little moments I had with them. I found myself in a closer relationship with Starfire because of some alien named Val-Yor. Apparently, there are races who feel that Tamaranians are inferior. I guess racism is everywhere.

Robin promised Starfire that he would never let anyone hurt her like that again. Then he promised me that he wouldn't let Slade hurt _me_.

And _that_ was how the search started.

I left the other Titans in the living room as they continuously played back our last encounter with Slade. Seeing him so many times angered me, and my anger was especially dangerous now.

I haven't been able to meditate since the whole Slade incident. Every time I try to, I end up seeing Slade and my father.

Much like I am now.

I stood on the roof of a devastated building and looked down into the lake of fire below me. On an island, where the Tower used to be, the mark of my father had been etched on the shore closest to the lake.

"Tick-tock, Raven," said Slade. "Time is running out."

I had no idea where he was. "I'm not afraid of you," I told him in the bravest voice I could muster. It was true, actually. I wasn't afraid of _him_. I was afraid of the man he worked for.

"Silly girl," he said, making me turn around to face him. "I'm not the one to be afraid of. You know that."

He disappeared with a flash of lightning. Fire rained down from the clouds above me, circling around me so that I couldn't move.

"What you have concealed, you shall become," cried Father.

"It's a lie," I told him as I shielded myself from the flames. "I won't let this happen. I'll find a way!"

Slade found his way to me through the flames. "Your optimism is _really_ adorable, but you're forgetting one thing, Raven—this is what you were _born_ to do. You were sent here to _destroy_ the Earth."

The vision of my world in ruins was replaced with darkness; save for four red eyes that stared at me from below.

"Your destiny will be fulfilled," said Father. "The Portal _must_ be opened!"

I snapped out of this horrible nightmare and back into reality. It took me several deep breaths to calm myself down. My forehead burned, the sign that the mark was glowing again.

"It's _my_ destiny," I said to no one in particular as I raised myself and my books into the air. "There _has_ to be a way to change it. I _know_ there is. I just need a little help finding it."

One of the books stopped on a page that had my burning mark on it. The knowledge of the book flowed into my mind.

"No," I cried as I grabbed the book. "This has to be wrong."

Someone knocked on my door. "Uh," said Robin carefully, "any luck finding the symbol."

Yes. "No," I told him as I hid the book underneath my bed and pulled my hood up. My forehead stopped burning; the mark was gone. "It's not in any of my books." I answered the door but didn't meet Robin's eyes.

"Are you okay, Raven? You look a little…well, _paler_."

I imagined I did look paler than usual. If he had been with me, he might've paled too. "It's nothing. I just haven't been able to meditate lately, that's all." A lie and a truth—in that order—wrapped up in one sentence.

"Look, I know Slade scared you, but we'll find out why he was after you."

"Slade doesn't concern me." It was true. I wasn't suppressing my fear this time. I just wasn't telling anyone who I was really afraid of.

Suddenly the alarm started to echo through the halls.

"Friends, come quickly," said Starfire over the intercom.

It took me a moment to respond. I hated to think that my friends had actually made _progress_ on finding the mark. My worries intensified as Starfire pointed to the picture they'd drawn to resemble the mark.

It was almost identical to mine, save for an extra accent. Something about the extra piece didn't seem right, though.

"Cyborg was correct," Starfire told us. "This symbol is not of the Earth, and what I have discovered is most disturbing."

I avoided eye contact with anyone.

"Please, give your attention to this quadrant," she said as she pointed at the extra piece. "In the folklore of the Zargak nomads, markings such as these were used as a prelude to the Goulding—"

"Actually," said Beast Boy.

Starfire continued, "A savage ritual that requires all Zargak warriors to consume vast quantities of Bortha Worms and—"

Beast Boy leaned over and picked up the extra piece. "It's tofu calzone. My bad," he said quickly as he disposed of it quickly.

"Oh," said Starfire, "never mind."

Suddenly the _real_ alarm went off in the Tower. I turned my attention to the computer, but I didn't need to look to know who it was.

"Slade," said Robin.

When we reached Slade, he was destroying an abandoned block of buildings. I couldn't help but wonder why he had lured us down here.

Slade stepped out of the flames. I imagined a smile behind his mask. "I _do_ love my job."

Cyborg raised his cannon and grabbed Slade's attention by blasting one of Slade's hands.

"Vandalism," said Robin. "You hit an all new low, Slade."

"The Teen Titans," Slade replied. He didn't seem too concerned with us. "Nice of you to drop by, but, as you can see, I'm right in the middle of something. I'll deal with you in a few minutes."

"No. _We'll_ deal with _you now_."

"You can't always have what you want, Robin," he said before he broke the ground underneath us and disappeared into the flames.

"Titans," said Robin, "split up and take him down!"

Split up?

My friends did as he asked, but I stayed in the shadows. It didn't make any sense. This entire block was already slated for demolition. Why would he choose to be here?

The sound of feet scraping across the ground reached my ears after a series of explosions of crashes. I emerged from the shadows and stopped Slade in front of the old library. "What do you want?" I asked him with an even voice.

"Only what any messenger wants, Raven: for their message to be heard. It's time your friends learned the truth. And if _you_ don't tell them, _I_ will."

"Leave them out of this."

"_I_ didn't bring them _into_ this. _You_ did—the day you came into their lives. Tick-tock, Raven. Time is running out." He disappeared in a pillar of fire.

I let him go.

"Titans," said Robin's voice on my T-Communicator. "Do you read me?"

"I read you, but I don't see you," cried Cyborg.

Starfire said, "I see you all…and something else."

I knew what she was seeing. The mark. _My_ mark. The mark of Scath.

"Where's Raven," Beast Boy asked.

I pulled out my T-Communicator. "I'm by the abandoned library."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. He didn't even get a chance to touch this place."

Robin said, "Stay there. We'll come find you."

Sure enough, they did.

"Everything in a three-block radius has been destroyed," said Robin, "except this. Slade left it standing for a reason."

"Accordin' to the city's master plan," said Cyborg, "this is the original town library. But it's been abandoned for decades."

"No wonder," Beast Boy chimed in as he kicked a pillar. "This place is a dump."

As if he needed any help proving his point, the pillar crumpled to the ground, and the library's sign fell. After the dust cleared, we saw a mark that had been hidden behind the sign.

"The mark of Scath," said Robin.

My heart wrenched. How did he know?

"Slade told me the name," he told us.

So Slade hadn't been lying. He _would_ tell my friends if I didn't.

My friends started to move forward. "Wait," I cried suddenly. My insides turned at the thought of going inside that place. It was creepy…even for me. "We shouldn't go in. It's probably a trap."

"It's also our only lead," said Robin. "We'll just have to chance it."

Starfire yanked the doors open, and we walked inside. I gravitated toward the back of the group, and kept a wary eye out for anything.

"Dudes," said Beast Boy, "even without the creepy librarians, I'm not diggin' this place."

We reached the back wall of the building, and we still hadn't found anything.

"It's a dead end," said Robin with a tense voice. I know how frustrating it is for him when our clues come to a sudden stop like this.

"There's nothing here," I told them as I stepped forward. "Can we go now?" My forehead started to burn. I couldn't see it, but I knew the mark of Scath was there.

The mark appeared on the wall beside Beast Boy and crumpled to reveal a doorway. Beast Boy screamed and jumped all the way back over to me. "I mean, cool," he said, in an effort to redeem himself. "A secret passage." He pushed Cyborg forward. "You go first."

Cyborg led the way with his flashlight. My stomach twisted itself into knots as we came across old statues that had cloaks similar to mine.

"I did not realize your libraries housed such unpleasant sculptures," said Starfire.

So they hadn't made the connection yet. I guess I wouldn't want to suspect that my friend had something to do with all of this evil.

Cyborg shook his head and checked his arm. "They don't. This part of the building is old. I mean _old_ old—like before the city was built."

My forehead started to burn again as I stepped into the dark room. The walls lit up with marks similar to mine, and the statues' eyes began to glow. Ghosts emerged from the stone and said in an ominous voice, "The Gem was born of evil's fire; the Gem shall be His Portal. He comes to claim, He comes to sire. The end of all things mortal!"

I gasped as my entire body began to glow. My marks shown through my clothes. The words held their places in my brain.

I had to get out of there.

I closed my cloak around me and ran from the room.

"Raven," said Robin.

I ran up the stairs, but the burning didn't stop. My marks were still there.

"Raven," Robin cried, stopping me in my tracks. "Are you okay?"

I turned toward him, but was careful not to betray my markings. "This place, it's—I shouldn't be here! It's all wrong."

"What's going on, Raven? What aren't you telling me?"

A lot of things.

"I just need to leave. I can't go back in there." I let my soul-self take over me and disappeared from the building. I didn't stop until I was home.

The statues' words followed me all the way to the Tower. I raced back to my room and formed a salt circle around me. The book that told me about the mark of Scath rushed to my hands, and the candles in my room lit themselves up.

"You might be able to stop me from meditating, but you can't stop me from leaving."

There was only one place I could go now for help. And there was only one person in that place who could help me.

I placed my hand on top of my book so that it would come with me. The salt circle began to glow. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Carazon, Rakashas, Endere…Vaserix, Endrien, Azarath…Azarath, _Azarath_!"

A portal opened above me, and my body was lifted into it. The sickening feeling that the portal always brought with me returned. Creatures of Azarath raced past me, careful not to touch me. I looked back and saw a ball of fire encase them as it rushed toward me.

I forced myself to go faster through the portal.

The ball of fire caught up with me.

I tried to go even faster, but it didn't work.

The flames pulled me into them and enclosed me. "What you have concealed, you shall become," they told me. "You cannot run from your destiny. You cannot change who you are."

"No," I yelled as I tried to find an opening. "That's not true! I _can_ change it!"

"The Gem was born of evil's fire; the Gem shall be His Portal. He comes to claim, He comes to sire. The end of all things mortal!"

"_No_," I screamed as I used my powers to force my way out of the fire. I flew up toward the exit, only to find that a magic seal was guarding it.

I was pushed backwards by the force of the magic, but I didn't come this far to be stopped by a magic force field.

"_Let me in_," I commanded. I fell through the opening of the portal and onto the streets of the golden city that I used to call home. "Azarath," I whispered. "My last hope."

I picked myself up and walked through the streets. I didn't hear anything, save for the sounds of my footsteps.

"Hello?"

Where were the familiar cries of children? Where was the delightful gossip of my people? Where were the monks who had taught me?

"Not like I expected a _parade_, but—"

I was distracted from my thoughts by a single white dove flew past me. I watched it fly up to the tallest building in Azarath—the building that used to house me and the goddess Azar herself.

At first, I thought the woman the dove flew to was Azar, but a closer look helped me recognize her. Though she wore the white robe that most people from Azarath wore, her dark blue hair set her apart from everything else in this world.

In my world.

"Arella," I cried as I flew up to meet her.

She walked away.

I doubted that she remembered me. She'd always had a hard time remembering me in the first place. Maybe she would remember me if I called her by her other name.

"No, wait," I pleaded. "I've come back. Mother, _please_ help me."

Arella pet the dove on top of its head. "You always had a home here, my child, but help we could not give." She turned toward me. Though she'd referred to me as her child, her eyes seemed to be clouded with confusion. I wondered if she really did remember me.

"The prophecy," I told her as I held the book out to her, "it's happening. You have to tell me how to stop it."

"Nothing could be done," she replied with a shake of her head. "The promise of your birth was absolute."

"I don't believe you!" I cried. "There has to be a way! I don't wanna be this. I don't wanna help him. Mother, I'm…afraid."

My words didn't seem to affect her. "You forever had the love of your people, Raven—even knowing what you would become, and what that would bring. It was too late for Earth, just as it was too late for Azarath."

Her words struck me to the bone. Arella became a group of doves and flew away, revealing that the Azarath I had seen was just an illusion.

The reality was much worse.

I stood amongst the ruins of Azarath. The familiar streets and buildings that I had called home had been torn up and burnt down. Fire weaved its way through the destruction, capturing anything that hadn't already been taken.

"No," I whispered as the demonic laughter of Father reached my ears.

A dove flew past me again, making me turn around to face Arella.

"Mother, you have to—"

"Mother," she repeated softly. "I used to have a mother. I think I used to _be_ a mother, once, too. He promised me that I would be a mother one day. A mother of a beautiful child. A baby girl. A dangerous girl. She would bring death one day to everyone."

Her face fell.

I had been through my mother's scenes too much not to know that the "he" was Father, and she was telling me of the child she was supposed to have—me. I also knew that she didn't know who I was anymore.

"Mother, _please_—"

"He promised that I would be his queen one day. That I would rule beside him. But in the end, he left me to die." She walked toward the edge of the building and faced the destruction.

"Arella, _please_," I begged as I reached out to grab her arm. I wasn't too surprised to discover that she had merely been an illusion too. "I _am_ your daughter. It's me, Raven!" Tears streamed down my face when she turned to look at me. "You have to tell me what I can do. I need your help!"

Slowly, she lost the clouds in her eyes. "My daughter," she whispered, "there is only one thing you can do."

"What is it, Mother? What can I do?"

"You can die."

She leaned backwards and fell into the fiery river below. I didn't hear a splash or any other sound after that.

My mother was gone.

I had to go back to Earth.

I opened a portal and left the ruins of Azarath. I had no time to cry over the destruction of my home or the loss of my mother. The only thing I could focus on was my friends. And at that moment, they needed me.

Slade's hand was raised, and he held up my friends with ropes of fire. "Struggling only makes it worse, and how I _hate_ to see you suffer," he said as they struggled to breathe. "This won't hurt a bit."

"Wanna bet," I asked him as I grabbed a piece of the wall behind me and crushed Slade between my chunk and the other wall. I jumped down from the large stone hand and landed in front of Slade as he burst out of the wall. "I told you to leave them out of this," I reminded him darkly.

My entire body burned. This place caused my marks to glow without any hesitation. I ignored the pain and focused on Slade.

"How sweet," he replied. "You've come back to save your friends. But you're only delaying their pain—and yours."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I stepped forward, testing my luck. I had a theory about why he hadn't tried to hurt me yet. "Aren't you gonna attack? Reduce me to ashes? Or did your _master_ forbid you from hurting me? Did he order you to keep his _Gem_ safe?"

And there it was. If my friends hadn't figured it out already, they were sure to know now. I had just said it straight out. I am the Gem they're looking for.

Slade sank into the floor. "I'll be sure to give him your regards."

No. He didn't get to just disappear like that. I refused to let him get away without as much as a couple of scratches to take back with him. If he was truly supposed to keep me safe, then I knew that "I'm not finished yet!"

I searched for him with my powers and brought him back up on the surface. My black magic encased his entire body. "This time, _I_ have a message for _you_."

I slammed Slade into the walls and then flung him into the ceiling. I flew closer to him, body burning, marks glowing. "You tell him he'll have to _destroy_ me before I help him."

"You can tell him yourself," said Slade as he stood up. "The hour _is_ near."

The sound of his voice angered me. I dropped a boulder onto him before I smashed him into the walls two more times. I raised Slade into the air and crushed smaller rocks on his body parts.

I was in control. I would _not_ kill him again—as much as I wanted to.

That didn't mean I wouldn't rough him up a bit.

I could feel my anger transform into my soul-self. With an angry cry, I released my giant raven onto Slade. A large explosion covered my view from seeing what happened, but Slade's cry of anguish told me that he was at least in pain.

When the dust settled, Slade twisted his head back into place. Despite the anger I felt, I was disgusted at the sight. What had Father promised him in return for working for him? He looked down at me, and I imagined he was amused.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore," I declared as I closed the distance between us.

"_You_ might not fear _me_, but look who's afraid of _you_." He disappeared.

I let him. The sight of my frightened friends kept me from going after him.

Beast Boy stepped forward. His face betrayed that he was indeed frightened by the sight of me. "Raven," he asked me in a voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I didn't look at any of them as we made our way back to the Tower. My friends trailed behind me—none of them said a word to me until we got back to the living room.

"Raven," said Robin gently as I sat down on the couch. No one but Beast Boy dared to sit beside me.

"The Ancient Order used the name 'Scath' to protect the true identity of their master. We know him…as Trigon."

Cyborg flinched. "Are you serious? _That's_ who we're up against? Oh, man," he groaned.

"His cruelty is legendary, even on my world," said Starfire.

Beast Boy peered at me, even though my marks had long since disappeared. "So, what makes you go all glowy in the dark?"

"It's a warning," I told them all. "It means Trigon is coming. And the way he gets here is through me. I'm not just a person; I'm a portal."

"But, Raven," said Robin as he sat on the other side of me. "Why you?"

And there it was. The question that I had been dreading all this time. I swallowed and said, "Because Trigon…is my father."

The silence in the room almost suffocated me. I stood up and crossed the floor to the window. "Bad things are going to happen soon—_really_ bad things—and it's gonna be my fault." I stared at my reflection. Never before had I hated myself so intensely. "I thought I could handle this alone. I_ tried_, but I was wrong."

Starfire put her hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face her. "For confiding in us, we are most humbled."

"I only have one question," said Cyborg. "How do we stop him?"

Didn't they understand? "We don't," I told him.

"That doesn't mean we still can't try," said Beast Boy with a smile.

We stood by the window and watched as the sun rose in the horizon. I'm not sure why, but I started to cry in that moment. They were silent sobs, but I was still crying. Beast Boy wrapped his arm around my shoulders and drew me close to him. Starfire held my right hand—my _free_ hand—the one I wasn't using to hold back my cries.

After the sun had risen off the edge of the ocean, Robin turned to us all and suggested that we get some rest. As usual, I stayed behind.

Except I wasn't alone.

I turned and looked up at Beast Boy, who still had his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He looked down at me and suddenly jumped back, removing his arm. "Sorry," he mumbled through his fangs.

I almost started to cry again. "Please don't be afraid of me." After telling him everything, I hadn't expected anything less of him, but it still hurt to believe that he could actually be scared.

"Raven, I'm not scared of you."

I shook my head. "You have to be. After everything I've told you, you have to be afraid of me."

He took one of my hands in his. "Raven, I'm not afraid of you."

"But I'm…creepy."

"Yeah, you are," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean I have to fear you."

"Yes, it does," I told him as I turned to face him. The sun made his eyes sparkle. I wondered what mine looked like. "And if you don't you _should_ fear me."

He closed the distance between us in one fell swoop of his feet. "I could _never_ be afraid of you," he whispered.

I stopped arguing with him. I didn't want to anymore. If he didn't want to fear me, he didn't have to. Besides, I'd rather not spend the rest of my time with him fearing me.

Because like Arella said, there was only one thing that I_ could_ do.

I could die.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Mother Mae-Eye

"Hey," cried Robin as he sat up on the floor. "I'm hungry!"

"Me too," I replied with a smile. Mother says it's nice when I smile.

"Me three," said Beast Boy with an even bigger smile.

Cyborg yelled, "Make it four!"

Starfire's face crumpled into a small frown. "But who is going to feed us?"

"Hello, sweeties," cried an older woman in an apron and a giant bonnet. "Now that we've all had a nice nappy-wappy, what would my hungry little ones like to eat?"

"Pie," we cried joyously.

Mother raised her wooden spoon and made five delicious pies for us on the kitchen counter. We hurried to our seats so that we could eat it. But even though we were hungry, we didn't forget to thank Mother.

"Thank you, Mother Mae-Eye," we said together before we dug into our pies.

Mother giggled. "You're _ever_ so welcome, my children. And remember: Mother loves you!"

We finished our pies and gave a satisfying sigh afterwards to show Mother that we appreciated her. Cyborg and I appreciated Mother so much that we stayed in the kitchen to eat more of her pies while she cleaned up the Tower.

Robin went to style his hair; Beast Boy went to clip his toenails; and I'm pretty sure Starfire was going to go and clean out her nose, but I'm not sure because I wasn't too concerned with her. Or any of them, for that matter. All I cared about where Mother's delicious pies.

She made all types of flavors for me: apple, cherry, blueberry. Every pie she made was just as delicious as the last one I'd ate. Cyborg thought so too.

"They're pie-licious!" he cried.

"Of course they are," I told him. "Mother bakes them with love."

Unfortunately, we made a bit of a mess while we were eating.

"Now, children," said Mother as she walked back into the kitchen. "Eat as much as you like, but we mustn't be messy." She waved her kitchen spoon and placed a blue bib on Cyborg. "Cyborg needs his bibby-wibby. And little Raven has crumblies _all_ over her face." She licked a napkin and wiped my face down.

"Thank you, Mother Mae-Eye," Cyborg and I said together as she conjured up more pies for us.

Just as soon as we had finished the pies, the alarm sounded off. The sound was irritating to me—more so than usual. It jarred me awake; though I was pretty sure I'd already been up. My memories were kinda hazy.

"Trouble," Robin informed us.

Mother stopped us at the door. "And just where do my sweeties think they're going?"

"On a mission," Robin told her. "We have to protect the city."

"Goodness, _no_! Too dangerous. Mother does _not_ approve. Besides, you don't _really_ want to leave me, do you?"

Of course not.

"But," said Robin, "no one's ever stopped us from going on missions before."

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed.

Cyborg said, "We've saved the city hundreds of times."

As true as that may be, I'd never leave Mother.

My Mother.

_My mother_.

She wasn't my mother. I don't know this woman. I have no memories of her in my life.

I rubbed my head. "And you never—you were never—"

"_Who wants pie_," Mother cried as she forced a spoonful of pie into my mouth.

I groaned. Though the pie had been delicious, I was starting to be a little full. I really wanted to take a nap—and then eat more pie.

"No," said Starfire with a frown. "Our mission."

"Oh, very well," said Mother with a smile. "You can all go outside and play, but only once Mother says you're ready."

We walked down to the garage, where the T-car was waiting for us.

"Well, let's see," said Mother as she waved her spoon over us. "We'll need a wooly sweater in case Twinkle Star gets chilly; a cute bunny suity so Beastie Boo doesn't have to change into all those _ugly_ animals; and a pooty-pooty dressy-poo for Mother's little Rae-Rae."

I held up the corners of my short yellow dress and tugged at one of the ends of my braids.

Mother stilled my fidgeting hands and whispered to me, "Just because you're evil on the inside, doesn't mean you can't look pretty on the outside." She pinched my cheek, making me giggle.

Cyborg towered over me in a rain suit. "I'm already dressed for if it rains, Mother," he cried cheerfully.

Sucking up to Mother will get him nowhere. Mother doesn't have favorites. We're _all_ her favorite.

"Yes, dear," she replied. "But did you remember to clean your room?"

We had to wait for Cyborg to clean his room. Robin kept track of time.

"The signal sounded fifteen minutes ago," he informed us as he pointed at his T-Communicator. "We need to get moving!"

How _dare_ he try to rush Mother! He should be grateful Mother's letting us go outside and play. I, again, wouldn't mind staying with Mother, but going outside would be nice.

"What we _need_ to do, young man," Mother said, "is get rid of all these dangerous toys! It's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. There, now, is everyone ready?"

"Yes, Mother," we cried together.

Mother drove. Something told me that the T-car didn't normally seat six, but somehow it did now. I shook off the thought and enjoyed the ride next to Beast Boy. We giggled at Mother's jokes and listened to her instructions.

We reached the mall, and the H.I.V.E. Five seemed pretty surprised to see us.

"No way," said Jinx.

They took us all in with one look and then began to laugh.

"Nice ears," cried Private Hive.

Jinx smiled at Robin. "Love the hair."

"Who dressed you guys," Gizmo asked us, "your mother?"

As a matter of fact, yes. Mother has always—

"Play nice, dears," Mother told us. "Mother will be back to pick you up in twenty minutes!" She drove off down the street.

The sound of the car speeding away irritated me again. Why was this old woman telling me what to do? She wasn't my mother.

Robin spiked his hair up and cried, "Titans, go!"

"H.I.V.E. Five," said Jinx, "eat 'em alive!"

I didn't feel comfortable fighting in a dress. It made me feel exposed whenever I was in the air. And though See-More had already seen through Starfire's clothes, I was pretty sure he snuck a few peeks underneath my skirt as well.

One of Jinx's blasts took me to the ground. I spent most of the fight blocking her attacks with my shields and flinging stools at her from nearby kiosks. Her last attack sent me to the ground.

"You're out of style, _and_ out of luck," she told me as she blasted the kiosk beside me.

I tried to roll out of the way, but the edge of my dress had been caught on one of the hooks. I was carried by the kiosk through the air until it crashed on the escalator. I fell to the ground and felt my skin graze across the cement underneath me.

Beast Boy helped me up and we joined our team. "Uh, you think they'd let us call time out?"

"These children deserve more than a time out," said Mother as she entered the mall. "They need a good, sound spanking!" And with that, Mother single-handedly defeated the H.I.V.E. Five.

In the process, Starfire hit her head. Mother went to comfort her, but I don't think it worked. Starfire seemed weird on the way home, too. While Mother spoke to us, Starfire didn't look at her. Instead, Starfire looked out the window and hid in her sweater.

"Mother's widdle Twinkle Star is awfully quiet back there. Is everything hunky-dory?"

"Yes, Mother," she said quickly. "I am just pouty-wouty because we were not victorious in battle."

"Mother told you going out to play was dangerous, little ones. And look what happened! Those _nasty_ children were meanie-poops! Mother had to come and save her babies."

"Yeah," said Robin with a frown. "We won't ever go on one of those _stupid_ missions again."

"You won't have to, sweetie. From now on, you'll all stay home with Mother. Forever! Now who wants more pie?"

Pies appeared in front of us. After swallowing my first bite, I was immediately ridded of my disappointed feeling.

"We love you, Mother Mae-Eye," we told her.

She giggled. "I know, sweeties. Mother loves you too."

When we got home, Mother was so busy preparing us for bed that she had no time to check on the scratch I'd gotten during playtime. I tried to bandage it myself, but I was unsuccessful. I needed Mother. Mother had always patched me up.

A tear of frustration slipped down my cheek.

"Raven, are you alright," Beast Boy asked suddenly as he passed the bathroom.

I wiped my eyes and motioned toward my bloodied knee. "It hurts," I told him in a pitiful voice.

"Oh." He sat down in front of me and examined it.

"I need Mother."

"She said she was busy. I can help you, if you'd like."

I sniffled and nodded.

Beast Boy felt along my leg. Up my calf and thigh, over the top of my knee. He was checking to see if I was broken.

I felt broken. I also felt something else. Something that felt like electricity. It quivered underneath my skin and made my entire body tremble beneath his touch.

He wiped away the blood with gentle motions and placed a bandage on top of my cut. He melted his lips into my skin. Not a kiss, a melt. I could allow a melt. I let the melt soak in. It made my cut feel better.

It made _me_ feel better.

It made me see _clearer_.

He glanced up at me with wide green eyes. I knew he was remembering too. Remembering that he had never seen that woman before. That she was not who she claimed to be. That she was not—

"There you are," cried Mother as she appeared in the doorway. "I was looking for you, my sweeties." She grabbed our hands and led us to bed with the others. We'd always slept in one bed. One giant, large, circular bed.

I found myself sandwiched between Beast Boy and Cyborg.

"Five o'clock, little ones," said Mother. "Time for beddy-bye. Good night, Beastie Boo."

"Goodnight, Mother," he yawned.

"Goodnight, Rae-Rae."

I sank into my pillow. "Goodnight, Mother."

"Goodnight, Borgie Bear."

"Goodnight, Mother," he replied with a soft smile.

"Goodnight, Robbie-Wobbie."

Robin adjusted his position in bed. "Goodnight, Mother."

"Goodnight, Twinkle Star."

Starfire pulled the covers up to her chin and hid underneath them. "Goodnight…Mother."

Mother closed the door, and I immediately drifted off to sleep. My dreams were filled with pies and flowers and laughter and—

"Friends, awaken," cried Starfire. "Alarm! The Mother Mae-Eye is…our mother, but…our home…missions…our boogers, and keeps us…with frequent and plentiful helpings of…pie!"

I didn't catch most of that. She really needs to slow down when she talks. "So," I said, "what now?"

Cyborg whispered to me, "I think she's sayin' she wants more pie."

Starfire frowned. "I am _saying_ that Mother Mae-Eye does not belong here!"

Robin gave her a sleepy smile. "Of course she does, Starfire. Mother's always been here. She takes care of us."

Beast Boy nodded. "And Mother loves us. And we love her."

Starfire still seemed confused. I guess some traditions on earth just can't be explained. I pulled the covers up and fell back asleep.

Back into my dreams.

My dreams were filled with pies and flowers and laughter—and Beast Boy.

He was everywhere. We started by eating Mother's pies together. He enjoyed wolfing them down and getting through as many as possible, but I was more concerned with savoring the taste of every bite of pie.

For some reason, I was surprised to find that my dreams weren't filled with fire and ruins and deep voices. I'm not too sure why I expected my dreams to be that way, but I didn't put much thought into it afterwards.

"Whatcha thinkin' about," Beast Boy asked me as he finished another pie.

"What are _you_ thinking about," I asked in return, not sure how to answer his question.

"Pies," he said with a smile.

I frowned. "Liar."

His smile widened to show his fang. "I was just wondering if you would want one of Mother's pies next time."

Next time? "What, do you mean like a date?"

"Our second one," he replied with a nod.

"Does this count as our first one, then," I asked, gesturing to the singing flowers and blinding sun.

"It could be." He shrugged. "It depends on how this one goes. So, what do ya say?"

I was taken from my dream as Mother screamed. I awoke to find Starfire attacking her.

"Starfire, stop," cried Robin.

"Why are you hurting Mother," I asked her, ready to defend Mother in case it was needed.

"Look at her," cried Starfire. "Can you not see? She is _not_ our mother, she is a horrible, mean—"Starfire was silenced as red licorice straps wrapped themselves around her.

"Bad, bad Twinkle Star," said Mother. "Mother's naughty girly stayed up past her bedtime. And Mother must _punish_!"

"Mother, wait," said Robin in protest. "She didn't mean to—"

"Nighty-night," said Mother as she waved her wooden spoon.

I fell back into my dream.

"It could be." Beast Boy shrugged. "It depends on how this one goes. So, what do ya say?"

It took me a moment to answer. It had been so long since I had given an answer based on my happiness alone. I wanted to give in to what I was really feeling. I wanted to allow myself one selfish moment. I wanted to spend actual time with Beast Boy.

So I did.

"That would be…nice."

His eyes sparkled. "Alright! This'll be great! We'll have pie, and play video games, and eat some tofu, and—"

"Mother," Beast Boy whined outside of my dream. "I'm too toasty."

"And I want a glass of water," Cyborg yelled.

"Not now, children," said Mother. "Mother's busy making things pretty. Besides, it'll all be over very soon." She laughed and disappeared.

Three frightening gingerbread men opened our bedroom door and tried to come inside. We screamed and begged for Mother to return to us. Mother didn't come.

Starfire did, though. She burst through the candy doors and used her eye blasts to destroy our room and some of the cookies.

Robin gasped. "You broke Mother's cookies."

Cyborg and I oohed. I know Starfire's been going through something weird, but breaking Mother's cookies crosses the line a little bit.

"Please, friends, you _must_ believe me," Starfire said to us. "A bump on the cranium has allowed me to see Mother for what she really—"

"You're gonna get in trouble," we chanted together. "You're gonna get in trouble! You're gonna get in—"

I fell to the floor as something crashed down on top of my head. Pain made me see stars before my eyes. It also helped me to see clearly.

"What'd you do that—um, why am I in a giant pie," Robin asked.

Beast Boy looked at his pink hands. "Why am I in a bunny suit?" He unzipped it.

That didn't compare to my question. When I'd fallen asleep, I was in my cloak. Suddenly, I wake up in yellow frills. "Why am _I_ in a _dress_?" Black flames encased my body, ripping the dress to shreds and returning my normal outfit to me.

Cyborg looked around the Tower after taking off his rain suit and bellowed, "Who's been redecoratin' my Tower?"

"Uh," said Starfire as a massive army of gingerbread men approached the oven, "perhaps I can explain later.

Robin shook his hair back into its spikes. "Titans, go!"

I flew ahead of the team and encased a group of gingerbread men in a ball of black energy. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" The ball shriveled to the size of a gumball, reducing the gingerbread men to crumbs. I let the crumbs rain down on their friends below.

The angry gingerbread men banded together and formed a giant one. I stepped back until something stopped me—or rather, _someone_.

Beast Boy removed his hand from my back and smiled at me. "I got this one," he said as he cracked his knuckles. In an instant, he became a Tyrannosaurus Rex and took a large bite out of the gingerbread man. The headless gingerbread man sunk to the ground, defeated.

"Told you I got it," Beast Boy said with his mouth full.

I didn't say anything to him. I followed Robin out of the giant kitchen and down the hallways.

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "if there's candy everywhere, how come our house smells like old lady?"

Cyborg shrugged. "_I_ still don't get how we got _into_ this mess."

I frowned as I walked, trying to sort through my memories. "I remember seeing Mother for the first time—right after Cyborg brought home a pie."

Robin froze in his tracks and turned to look at Cyborg. "Where did you _get_ the pie?"

"Uh," said Cyborg with a nervous smile. "I was walkin' past a dark alley at night, and there was this weird, old gypsie who said, 'Mystical items at reasonable prices'. So I'm like, 'Cool! What should I get? A brain in a jar? Monkey's paw? Ooh, pie'. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Alright, Titans," said Robin. "We know how Mother Mae-Eye got _into_ our lives, now we need to think of a way to get her _out_."

The doors ahead of us opened, revealing Mother Mae-Eye. She was not as beautiful as I remembered. Her skin was green, her clothes were dark, she had warts everywhere, and she had a third eye in the middle of her forehead. And on _top_ of that, she was _still old_.

"Oh," she said. "I'm afraid there _is_ no way out, sweetie. Mother will always be here to take care of you, whether you like it or not." Her laughter of chimes became a harsh cackle through the air.

"Titans, move," cried Robin.

I shielded Cyborg form a gingerbread man's attack as he blasted a giant Mother Mae-Eye. In return, he helped me out of harm's way when Mother Mae-Eye turned around and tried to blast us with her spoon.

"You ungrateful little monsters! I treated you like my own children, and _this_ is how you repay me?"

A green lion encased in gelatin slid past me.

"I cooked, I cleaned, I slaved over a hot stove," Mother Mae-Eye ranted.

A magnet with Starfire trapped inside found its place on the refrigerator.

Cyborg and I raised our hands and blasted Mother Mae-Eye together.

She frowned at us. "I tied your shoes, and wiped your _filthy_ faces!"

Cyborg and I found ourselves trapped inside jars.

Mother Mae-Eye bent down to look at us. "I took care of you, and I did it _all_ because of love!" Red licorice straps wound themselves over all of us. She sat us down in front of her and smiled her toothless smile. "And I'm gonna make you love me, no matter how much it hurts."

Robin used one of his devices to cut through the bottom strand of his licorice. "Let us go, you crazy—"

"Sorry, dear," said Mother Mae-Eye with another smile. "You didn't say Mother Mae-Eye. Now open wide!" She held out a giant piece of pie to him.

Robin jumped up and broke free of his restraints. He grabbed the serving spoon and flung the pie into Mother Mae-Eye's face. "Lady, you're not my mother," he said darkly.

"Ow, my eyes," she cried as we broke out of our restraints. "That's it! You're all grounded!" She waved her wooden spoon at us and trapped us inside of a giant pie. "There now, children, I'll be right back."

She disappeared from the kitchen.

"I never knew I could feel _this_ much hatred for a pastry," I told the Titans.

"Pie, pie, pie," cried Beast Boy. "I hope I never see another pie again in my life!"

"Actually," said Robin, "I could use a little pie right now." He dipped his hands into the pie and smeared it all over his face.

"Robin," Starfire asked.

"If _pie_ is what got her _into_ the Tower, then _pie_ is how we're going to get her _out_!"

"Oh, children," cried Mother Mae-Eye as she returned. We had just barely finished smearing pie all over our face.

"We're so sorry we made you angry, Mother," said Beast Boy with an innocent face.

I shook my head. "We don't know what came over us."

"But then we found some of your delicious pies," said Cyborg.

Robin smiled. "And now we feel _all_ better."

"We love you, Mother Mae-Eye," we said together.

Starfire stood up and raised her arms. "Please, may I have the hug?"

Mother Mae-Eye smiled. "Of course, sweetie. Mother always has a hug for her little—"

"Now," cried Robin as she leaned down to hug Starfire.

Beast Boy jumped onto her face in the form of a gorilla, making her drop her wooden spoon. Starfire picked it up and waved it over a pie that I had lifted into the air. The pie became a wormhole that sucked up Mother Mae-Eye and all of her creations.

"Nobody loves me," she cried before she disappeared into the pie.

Beast Boy tapped it with his foot. "So," he said, "she's trapped in the pie?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, sure, why not?" There wasn't really much of an explanation as to what had really happened to her.

"And what are we to do with that evil confection," Starfire asked.

"We could eat it," said Cyborg. After a moment's thought he revoked his suggestion. "I'm just kiddin'….mostly."

"I have a better idea," said Robin with a mischievous smile.

He _did_ have a better idea.

While Beast Boy went to deliver the pie to the H.I.V.E. Five, I was in my room. My fingers found the pin he'd given me and the bandage he'd placed on my knee. It'd been nice to have a day where I didn't have to worry about Trigon, or Slade, or the end of the world.

Or what I had to do.

_ My daughter, there is only one thing you can do. You can die._

**A/N: Just because I COULD do this episode, I did. It was a lot of fun writing Mother Mae-Eye's lines and giving Raven a break from all of the gloom and doom in her life. I thought it would be nice to do this for her before she has to go through...(da da dum!) THE END! It's coming up next, kiddies. :D**


	20. Chapter Nineteen: The End

The burning sensation of my body woke me up. The marks glowed brighter than they ever had before. "No," I whispered. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this was it. The day I had been dreading.

The end of the world.

The objects in my room seemed to be staring at me. Whispers in the dark said, "The Gem was born of evil's fire; the Gem shall be His Portal. He comes to claim, He comes to sire. The end of all things mortal!"

I ran from my room and to the rooftop. The rising sun illuminated my marks until they disappeared.

"What are you doing up so early," Robin asked me with a smile in his voice. He joined me on the rooftop and stared at the horizon.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I love sunrise. The promise of a new day—anything's possible."

Could he be any more hopeful? "Are you always so cheery this early?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much. Looks like it's gonna be a beautiful day."

"Yeah," I said as I forced myself to smile. Smiling is good. Smiling doesn't attract attention to the bad things. Smiling is the best way to lie. "Hungry?"

We walked down to the living room, and I made pancakes. Or tried to. I'd never really _cooked_ anything other than herbal tea—if that counts—and we always go out for pizza. I did my best, though.

I used my powers to flip the pancakes onto a giant plate and turned to face my friends. "Morning," I told them with a smile. "Pancakes?" I hoped that syrup would be able to hide the taste of the black bottoms—make that a _lot_ of syrup.

"Uh, thanks," said Beast Boy with a questionable look.

"What is the occasion," Starfire asked me.

I frowned. They had a right to ask me that, of course. It's not like I give them gifts all the time. "Can't I just do something nice for my friends?"

Cyborg shrugged and said, "Uh, yeah, but—"

"You never have before," Beast Boy finished for him.

My frown settled into a glare.

"Guess there's a first time for everything," said Beast Boy as he and the other Titans split the pancakes onto their respective plates.

I could tell that Starfire was the only one who liked my pancakes. I _knew_ I should've put more butter on the tops. Maybe some flour might've helped, too. I was so embarrassed that I could've died.

Well…

Robin, trying to be nice, as usual, said through tensed teeth, "Don't you think it's nice of Raven to make us breakfast?"

"Even though the girl has no clue how to cook," Cyborg grumbled.

I settled even deeper into depression. So I don't know how to cook! I never had the chance to learn. Besides, I'm not the only girl on this team who can't make Earth food. Starfire's alien food tastes just as horrible as mine…that's probably why she likes it. We just have to face that the women of the Teen Titans can't cook.

"Oops, did I say that out loud," Cyborg whispered. "Yum," he said quickly, trying to cover it up.

It was too late. The damage has been done.

Starfire swallowed my pancakes with a smile on her face. "Burnt on the outside, yet runny on the inside," she declared as she spread mustard over her last piece. "Just like the incinerated Glorka roaches on my home world." She finished her piece and held up her plate. "More please."

The Titans eagerly piled their uneaten pancakes onto her plate. I didn't mind much. At least _someone_ was eating them.

"What a _glorious_ way to start the day," she cried before she dug in again.

"So," I said as casually as I could, "I was thinking…after breakfast, do you guys wanna, maybe…you know, hang out or something?" I attempted to give them the best smile I could muster. I'm pretty sure I only ended up scaring them.

Robin's T-communicator began to beep. "It'll have to wait," he told us. He led us out to the streets of the city. Apparently, the danger was so important that we couldn't stop to take the T-car.

My heart thumped in my chest and we came closer to the scene. Relief washed over me when I realized who our villain was today. "Plasmus," I breathed. "It's just Plasmus."

Beast Boy was flung into the building behind me. "Yeah, but he's still ugly as ever!"

"Titans, go," cried Robin as he raced toward Plasmus.

The creature backhanded Robin into the air.

I stopped attacking immediately and raised my hand. "Robin," I cried out in alarm as my powers encased his body and set him on the ground.

He gave me a thumbs up. "Thanks. I owe you one." He rushed back into the fight.

"Yeah, sure," I whispered.

Cyborg picked up a building by its corner and knocked the creature into the air, sending Plasmus at _least_ four blocks over. As we made our way over to Plasmus, I thought about how strong Cyborg was. I'd never really paid much attention to it before, but it was a quality of him that I liked and valued on our team.

The small man inside of Plasmus woke up as we reached him and became Plasmus again. Cyborg raised his arm and blasted Plasmus apart, but the gooey creature rebuilt itself with Cyborg trapped inside.

Starfire flew through Plasmus and saved Cyborg. The two fell in the middle of the street, covered in green goo.

Plasmus towered over them and shot a giant stream of goo.

I flew forward to protect my friends. In my panic, my fear spiked, and powers multiplied just the tiniest bit. Instead of creating a shield around us, I ended up shielding the entire block. This did, however, make it easier to block him.

Plasmus left us alone and drank the contents of a truck that was parked at the end of the street. He screamed and threw the truck to the ground as a green raven plucked at his skin. Plasmus grabbed Beast Boy and held him up to his face. One of Beast Boy's feathers must've tickled his nose, because Plasmus sneezed.

Beast Boy fell to the floor, covered in green goo. "Ew," he groaned as he tried to shake himself off. "Only one thing worse than goo."

"Sneeze goo," I confirmed as I flew past him and blocked Cyborg from another attack. "Let's just finish this!"

I flew up to Plasmus and folded my legs underneath me. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" My soul-self left my body and flew into Plasmus. It fought with the man inside for a moment, but my soul-self was finally able to subdue the creature.

When I returned to my body, I was covered in goo, and Plasmus was sleeping.

"Uh, nice work, Raven," said Robin.

I smiled at my friends and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Who wants pizza?"

We went immediately after taking Plasmus to jail. Pizza was fine…until we got down to who should have the last slice of pizza.

"I should have the last slice," cried Cyborg. "I was covered in goo!"

Beast Boy stood up and cried, "No way, dude! _I_ totally deserve the last slice. I got _sneezed_ on."

In a quiet voice, Starfire said, "_I_ flew _through_ the goo." She shivered. "The slice is _mine_." Her eyes began to glow as she slammed her fist down on the table. I was surprised that it didn't break.

Cyborg and Beast Boy willingly gave up the slice of pizza.

I smiled at the sight of Starfire as she spread mustard on top of the slice and then ate it.

"You're awfully quiet," said Robin.

"Just enjoying hanging out with my friends," I told him.

After pizza, we headed to the park. I led my friends on a nature walk. It was pretty quiet until Beast Boy screamed, "Dude!"

I turned around and raised my arm in alarm.

I was relieved when I discovered that Beast Boy had only draw attention to a penny. "Find a penny, pick it up," he said. "Something, something, something….good luck! It's my lucky day!"

Cyborg smiled and revealed that he had brought the ball of smelly socks. "Anyone up for a game of _extreme_ Stank Ball after lunch?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Beast Boy put his penny in his pocket and walked forward. "But you hate anything extreme…or stanky."

"Maybe I never gave it a chance."

Starfire flew up to me and took my hands in hers. "Raven, would you still have to time to join me in the painting of toenails later today?"

"Sounds like fun," I told her with a smile. Which it did. Just because I didn't do it often doesn't mean I wasn't ever interested. I just usually had better things to do with my time.

Robin crossed his arms and gave me a skeptical look. "Okay, Raven, what gives? Pancakes, pizza, Stank Ball, toenails?"

"Yeah," cried Beast Boy. "And she hasn't called me 'stupid' all day!" He _missed_ that? "Did someone replace Raven with a Raven robot?"

I took a couple of steps back and turned my back to them. I couldn't lie to their faces anymore. "I just want everyone to have a nice day today. Come on, we have a lot to do before sunset."

Suddenly a dark object blocked out the sun. I thought it was an eclipse, but there hadn't been one scheduled for today, and Jump City isn't known for its surprise eclipses. Darkness fell over the earth.

And _that_ was when the burning started. My body twitched as the marks made their way down to my feet. My convulsions spun me around until I was facing my friends.

"What's going on," Beast Boy shouted in alarm.

"Raven," Robin cried out.

I crumpled onto my back as the marks completed their course. The pain was still there, though. I could barely see my friends as they ran to my side to help me.

A blurry Robin held up my head. "Why didn't you tell us? It's happening, isn't it?"

"Please, Raven," said Starfire. "Today is the day? It is…"

"The end of the world," I whispered. And there it was. I had said it. And with those words, tears slipped out. I couldn't stop them. I cried while Robin nodded to the team; I cried while Cyborg lifted me into his arms; I cried while Beast Boy held my hand on the way back to the Tower.

"Okay, everyone," said Robin as we entered a lower level of the Tower. "Just as we planned."

I'd never been to this part of the Tower before. I hadn't even known it existed. "Where are you taking me?"

"You said there was nothing we could do. We didn't agree. So we've been preparing for this day." He held his hand up to a scanner—as high-tech as it was, that scanner was pitiful next to what any of Father's minions would do if they wanted to get through—and opened the door.

The first thing that caught my eyes was the white circle in the middle of the room. I knew without a second thought that my friends had made this room for me in hopes that I would be able to meditate. They'd even copied some of my meditation symbols onto the walls.

"You did all this for me," I whispered.

"We're ready to take on Trigon," said Robin.

"No, you _can't_ be. Just go—save yourselves!"

"We're not giving up," he declared. "Neither are you. Our plan is simple. Raven, _you_ are the Portal. Trigon _needs_ you to take over the Earth."

Cyborg's chest rumbled when he spoke. "But if Trigon can't get to the Portal, then he can't take over."

"So all we must do is keep the Trigon from getting to Raven," said Starfire.

I sighed heavily. What was it about this that they weren't getting? "You _can't._"

"We _will_," said Robin as he led us into the room.

Cyborg placed me in the middle of the circle. "You'll be safe in here," he told me. "Everything's ready. I've installed all of the latest state-of-the-art technology—nothing alive is getting' in here."

Starfire pointed to the signs around the room. "And these symbols should keep out everything else. We took them out of your books."

When had they had time to go into my room like that?

"Just in case you need some extra mojo," said Beast Boy with a smile before I could say anything.

"This is all…great," I told them, "but it's not gonna make a difference. Today, the prophecy _will_ be fulfilled. Trigon _is_ coming. There's no stopping him."

"There's never been a villain we couldn't stop before," said Robin.

"Trigon isn't a villain. He _is_ the _incarnation_ of evil; the source of _all_ darkness; the—"

"Okay," said Beast Boy. "Bad dude, we get it."

"No, you don't! You don't know Trigon."

"And Trigon doesn't know the Titans," said Robin. "Stay in here. We'll be watching from up there if you need us." He pointed to a giant pink screen behind me. He and the other Titans left.

All except for Beast Boy.

He ran back to me and placed something into my hand. "For luck," he told me. He folded his hand over mine and drew me to him.

I looked up at him just as he captured my mouth with his and kissed me deeply.

This was not a chaste kiss of friendship. This was a kiss of true passion, such as I'd only dreamed of before. My heart leapt in my chest and I wrapped my arms around him to pull him closer. When it finally ended, he stepped back from me, his eyes steady on the ground, a small smile creeping onto his lips.

"For me," he said before he ran from the room.

My lips tingled with electricity. I didn't dare touch them with my fingers. Instead, I opened my hand and revealed the penny Beast Boy had found earlier. Tears formed in my eyes again.

"All the luck in the world won't help us now." I kept the penny in my hand and raised my hood. Then, because I had nothing better to do, I began to meditate.

It didn't do me much good. I only ended up being at war with myself.

They can't stop him. _Nothing_ can stop him.

But they're willing to risk _everything_ for me. If anyone can stop Trigon, maybe they could.

"You know better than to fill your head with fanciful ideas," said a deep voice in the dark. The voice of Trigon. The voice of Father.

"You aren't here. You can't be!"

"I am always with you. You are part of me. Forever."

"_Get out_!"

My room was engulfed in flames and brimstone. Father was still there. "There is no stopping what is about to happen. This is the reason I sired you. You were born so I could rule the Earth."

"What if I don't let you," I asked him as I turned to face Father's red eyes. That was all I could see of him, but I knew he was there. "What if I don't become the Portal?"

"It is _not_ your place to tell me what to do!" His eyes emitted a giant fireball that flew towards me. "_I_ am the one with all the power! _I_ am the one who decides your destiny! _You do not have a choice_!"

I raised my hands above my head and blasted his eyes. My dark energy didn't ever get the chance to touch him. Father absorbed my powers with a blink of his second set of eyes.

"You will _always_ be Daddy's little girl."

"I am _nothing_ like you!" I cried out in pain as a second pair of eyes grew onto my forehead. I knew without looking at myself what I would see: two sets of glowing red eyes, just like Father's. I cowered on the floor, away from the vision.

"You wanted to protect your friends. Keep them from knowing. But you_ cannot_ deny the evil _within_ you. You will bring destruction to _everything_ and _everyone_. Like father, like daughter."

"_No_," I sobbed.

"You cannot hide from your destiny! Your friends cannot stop the inevitable. They are doomed." He held me in his hand. "Do you _really_ want their last day to end like this? How could you bear to watch them suffer?"

"Don't hurt them," I pleaded.

"_I'm_ not the one hurting them—_you_ are. You _know_ what must be done."

I began to cry. "But, Father, I don't _want_ to."

"You _cannot_ hide from your destiny!" Father lost control of his voice. He shouted. He actually shouted!

And I was shouting back at him. Me! Six months ago, I would've agreed with him and gone along with whatever he said. _That_ is the job of ladies—to be obedient.

But I am not a lady.

I am a witch.

_The_ witch.

I am Raven—no, I am _Rachel Roth_.

_Rachel Roth_ was the daughter born to Arella. _Rachel Roth_ was placed in an institution during the duration of her childhood. _Rachel Roth_ learned to control her emotions and accept her destiny.

But it was _Raven_ who emerged from the institution. It was _Raven_ who came to Earth to fulfill her destiny. It was _Raven_ who found friendship and love. It was _Raven_ who learned to _unlock_ her emotions and make her _own_ destiny.

But I am neither Raven nor Rachel Roth. I am me. I haven't done the things that Raven and Rachel Roth have done. I haven't experienced the things that Raven and Rachel Roth have. I don't know the things Raven and Rachel Roth do.

I only know one thing: I am the daughter of Trigon.

And the prophecy must be fulfilled.

I snapped out of my meditation and stood on my feet. I could sense that my friends had long since left the room behind the pink screen. I also knew by the sounds of a fight going on above me. The lights in the room flickered for a moment, and the ground shook underneath me.

I had to stop the fight.

I guess the room had been built to keep someone from breaking _in_—breaking _out_ was no problem. I merged through the levels until I was in the middle of the fight. Slade walked up to the fire demons that held my friends hostage.

Slade held up a fiery hand. "Do you _really_ want to spend your last day on Earth fighting?"

Robin struggled against the fire demon that restrained him. "This is _not_ my last day!"

"_Stop_," I yelled in a demanding voice. The demons released my friends and Slade dropped his hand.

"Raven," said Cyborg in surprise as the demons created a path for me to float through.

I flew up to Slade and touched my feet to the ground. "I will go with you," I declared.

Robin jumped in front of me and blocked my view of Slade. "We won't let them take you!"

"You need to get back in the safety room," Starfire begged. "Please!"

I shook my head. "I can't hide from my destiny any longer." I would leave, but as I have often learned on Earth, people who leave you never truly do. There is always a piece of them that remains inside you.

So I will leave a piece of me with them.

"No," Beast Boy whispered.

I raised my hand and split my powers evenly among us. I still needed a bit to perform the magic needed for the sacrif—ceremony, but the part that I didn't need I gave to them. The force of my powers adapting to their bodies rendered them unconscious.

"Goodbye," I told them with no emotion trailing behind my words. "Be safe." I walked over to Slade and his demons. "Let's go."

He led me to the library. I figured that the sacrif—ceremony would be performed here. It was where I'd admitted to being the Gem; it was older than the city itself; it was the place Father had created for his entry to Earth.

"The chamber has been prepared for you," said Slade. "Everything is ready for Trigon's ascent."

The smile I imagined behind his mask angered me. Even though he claimed to be a villain, he was just as naïve as a seven year old girl. "You're a fool. Whatever he promised, he won't deliver."

"Dear child, you don't know what you're talking about."

Spoken like the true words of someone who's naïve. "You think I don't know my own father?"

"You are merely the Portal—an insignificant pawn in Trigon's game."

His words didn't hurt me. How could they, when I had known that my entire life? "Then I guess we have that in common. And once he gets what he wants, _you'll_ be insignificant, too."

"_Shut your mouth_," Slade cried as his hands summoned his flames.

The fire demons restrained him before he could lay a hand on me.

"Get off me," he yelled. "Do as I command!"

I smiled. I allowed the spirit of Father to take over me for a small moment. The burning of my face told me that I had acquired a second pair of eyes. "Come to think of it, Slade, you're _already_ insignificant. Even your own _army_ won't listen to you." I turned around and led the minions further downstairs. "Leave him," I ordered.

They did as I said.

The penny in my hand felt as if it would burn into my skin. I reached the bottom of the steps and faced the hand I had descended upon not too long ago. "It is time," I said to the army of fire demons behind me. "The prophecy shall be fulfilled."

"Raven," cried Robin suddenly as he and the other Titans took out a few of the minions.

I waved my hand through the air as I turned to face my friends. The minions disappeared instantly. "It has already begun, and there is no stopping what is meant to be," I told them as I lowered my hood.

"You're willing to give up on everything all because of some prophecy you heard as a child? What if it's wrong?"

"Robin, I know what I know."

"I don't accept that. _You _can take control. _You _can make it _not_ happen!"

"I've known my whole life that this day was going to come. I tried to control the dark side of me. I tried to do _good_ things—to fight evil, and hope that would somehow make up for the horrible thing I'm destined to do." Robin, I admire you for being so hopeful, but you're wrong. _I am evil_. I have _always_ been evil. No amount of good deeds I have performed can change that fact about me.

"But _no one_ knows their destiny. There are things you can't _possibly_ know."

He's right about one thing. "There _are_ some things I didn't know. Like how I would make such wonderful friends. All I wanted was to make your last day perfect; instead you spent it worrying about me."

Robin stepped forward and held my hand. Through the bond I felt his fear, his loyalty, his pain, and his love for a person like me. I sensed that he truly valued my friendship as much as he valued the others. "That's what friends do."

"And as my friends," I said as I broke our bond and stepped away from him, "you _have_ to let me go." Before they could say anything else, I created a large shield of dark energy. I put enough power in it to protect them from Father when he arrived.

Their shouts of protest and cries of anguish were drowned out by my shield. I was grateful that I couldn't hear them. I didn't want to hear them cry as I performed the sacrif—ceremony.

I walked up the steps that led to the giant hand and stood in the circle of light that emitted from it. With the penny clenched in my hand and the black raven pin secured on my chest, I folded my legs underneath me and began to chant.

"The Gem was born of evil's fire; the Gem shall be His Portal. He comes to claim, He comes to sire. The end of all things mortal!"

My body felt as if it were on fire. The marks lifted from my skin and formed circles around me. I reached deep within me and held onto Father's hand. I helped him through the portal.

The pain was so intense that I opened my hands and had to stop chanting. I fell into—

Light. Not darkness, as I had been expecting. I fell into _light_. A blinding, soothing light that wrapped its arms around me.

"Mother," I whispered as the light took her form.

She smiled at me. She smiled _at me_. She knew who I was. For once, my mother was not confused. She was not in pain. She was happy.

And she was with me.

I folded myself into her arms and cried. She wiped my tears away with gentle fingers. "Mother, I…I…"

She shushed me. "Hush, my child. You have done it. You have fulfilled your prophecy."

"And now what, Mother? What am I to do now? Spend an eternity watching my friends live their lives without me? I would've been _glad_ to die for them, Mother, had it not been _your_ wish for me to do so!"

"You _had_ to die, my child. It was the only way."

The tears streamed down my face in large rivers. "_Why did you want me to die_?"

"I did not want you to continue the existence you had. I would not have wished that life on _anyone_—especially not my own daughter. But to end your pain, you would have to die."

I didn't know what to say to that. I know I've never had the best relationship with my mother, but I think wanting me to die is a little too much for anyone to try to handle.

She held the sides of my face. Her hands were warm and smelled of lavender. "But _now_, my child, you can continue with a _new_ existence."

"As a ghost?"

"No. The part of you that was destined to fulfill the prophecy has been destroyed; but the part of you that was destined to be _you_ still exists."

That was impossible. How could I have been split in two this entire time? "So I have to start over?"

Mother shook her head. "Not exactly. The choice to live with this new existence will be yours, but you must decide who _you_ are first."

"Mother, I know who I am."

"Do you, my child? Who are you?"

"I am—"I stopped. My name wasn't there. The words wouldn't form on my tongue.

I _didn't_ know who I was. Had I ever known?

Yes, I think I had once. Before I was told who I _should_ be. Before I was forced to forget who I _am_. Before I was taken to the institution.

I knew who I was nine years ago.

Mother said, "Once you have figured out who you are, you may choose to live out your new existence. I love you—"

I didn't hear the name she called me. I was falling again.

And _this_ time, I was falling into darkness.

I landed on my butt in a flurry of white robes. Though I had scraped my knee a bit, I didn't cry. Instead, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and looked around.

I was in a sea of rocks; pillars towered above me; my voice echoed through the emptiness when I called out.

I was alone.

"Hello?" I asked as I passed through a formation that reminded me of a doorway. I folded my cloak over myself and watched as my surroundings changed once more.

The rocks became golden hallways. A balcony formed before me. Arella stood on the edge, her arms thrown back, her hair whipping in her face.

"Arella," I said evenly. I knew this woman. How often had the monks spoken of her? "What are you doing?"

She didn't turn to look at me. "He promised me that I would be a mother one day. A mother of a beautiful child. A baby girl."

"Arella, I_ am_ that child. Don't you remember? It's me—"My name wouldn't form. What was this?

"A dangerous girl," Arella continued. "She will bring death one day to everyone." Her face fell.

The retelling of my prophecy made me flinch. How had she overheard it? "Arella, you really should get down from there. It's dangerous."

"He promised me that I would be his queen one day. That I would rule beside him. But in the end, he left me to die." She glanced down at the golden streets below her.

"Arella, stop. Don't," I warned. "Arella, no!"

A man in white robes rushed past me and grabbed Arella just before she fell. He held her close in his arms and turned to face me. "What have you done? What did we told you about your powers? You mustn't give in to your darkness or bad things will happen."

I wanted to tell him that it hadn't been me. I wanted to say that I hadn't done anything wrong—that Arella had chosen to commit suicide on her own. "I—"

"You are _evil_, my child," said the monk. "You must remember that or others will get hurt."

"What you say is untrue," said a beautiful girl dressed in purple. Judging from her orange skin, I assumed that she was an alien. "Raven is not evil. She is good and kind and just. She is my friend."

She'd called me "Raven". I wasn't sure what my name was supposed to be, but when she said it, it sounded correct. Like she _knew_ my name was Raven.

"Who are you," I asked her.

"I am…a friend," she told me with a smile before she and the golden halls disappeared from my sight.

"Wait," I cried as I tried to run after her. To my despair, I couldn't find her again. "Come back," I pleaded.

I looked up and saw a robot as he walked up to me. Something dark was in his hands. I was a little surprised to see a man made of metal and flesh together, but I remembered not to let myself feel it.

"I'm right here," he told me.

I shook my head. "You're not who I was looking for."

"Are you sure, Raven?"

Again, the name sounded _right_ with him.

He handed me the dark object in his hand. It turned out to be a cloak.

Even though I already had one, I liked the idea of having a darker cloak around my shoulders. However, if I had to choose the color, it would be blue—dark blue, like my hair.

"So what now," the robot suddenly said.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well, don't you think you should figure that out, Raven?" He disappeared.

"My child," said a man dressed in white robes behind me. "What do you feel?"

"Confused," I told him with a frown. A window pane broke somewhere.

The monk sighed in exasperation and rubbed his temples with his forefingers. "Your answer should be _nothing_. You feel _nothing_. Your powers are controlled by your emotions. The more you feel, the more dangerous it becomes. Emotions are dangerous."

"No, Raven," said a green boy. "Emotions _aren't_ dangerous. They're wonderful. They're what makes you special."

"Emotions make you _weak_," said the monk.

"No," the green boy told me. "Emotions make you _strong_."

What did this green boy know? The monks tell me these things so that I can prevent them from happening. They aren't insults—they are their form of protection. _My_ form of protection.

But…who am I?

The green one and the monk disappeared, and I found myself in the ruins of a stone castle.

Voices followed me through the ruins. I could feel something chasing after me, but I couldn't see who it was yet.

The doors creaked open. They were inside. "Hello," they said. "Is anyone here?"

I didn't answer.

Their footsteps followed me every time I moved away from them. Didn't they understand that I didn't want to be near them? I tripped over my new cloak and tumbled to the ground.

My follower removed the black cloak from my body and gasped. "Raven?"

"Who-Who are you?" I asked the boy in tights as I stood up.

"It's okay," he told me. "I'm here to take you back."

I ran. I don't know where I am. I don't know this man. I don't know who I am.

"Raven," he cried as he chased after me. "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!"

I ran through the halls and down the stairs. He was forced to stop as his path ended, but I was able to keep going. I crawled into a corner and hoped that he wouldn't find me.

He did. "Please, I just want—"

The boy cried out in pain as my foot connected with his leg. He fell backwards, allowing me to grab my cloak and continue running. I snapped it around my neck as I ran. I looked back once, to see if he was following me.

I should never look back.

I stepped on an unstable rock and tumbled into the pit below. The boy followed me and cornered me in a place that I couldn't escape from.

"Raven, it's _me_, Robin," he told me. "Remember?"

I only know one thing: "I'm lost."

"I know," he said as he knelt down. "But I found you. You don't need to be afraid anymore. I can help you, but you have to _let_ me." Robin offered his hand to me.

After a moment's hesitation, I took his hand and let him pull me onto his back. He carried me out of the castle and sailed a boat over the Sea of Fire. It didn't smell like fire, though—it smelled like a freshly made pennies. A copper scent filled my nostrils.

"It's alright," Robin told me as we reached the opposite shore. He hadn't spoken to me most of the trip, mainly because I refused to speak to him. I didn't mind the silence, though. "How about a story? To pass the time."

So much for the silence. I laid my head against Robin's shoulder and listened to him as he spoke.

"This is the story of Raven. She was my very good friend, and she was very brave. Together, we fought evil. We beat monsters and villains—we kept our city safe. But even though she was doing good, Raven was always afraid that deep down inside she was bad. See, from the day she was born, people told her that one day, something terrible was going to—"

Robin stopped as the earth underneath us began to shake. I looked down at the Sea of Fire and watched as fire demons emerged from the waters. They raced past us, but none of them were careful enough to watch out for us.

Robin lost his grip on the stalagmite we were climbing and let go of me so that he could steady himself. The jolt of the forced stop flung me from Robin's shoulders and down to the sea below.

"Raven!"

I screamed and watched as he leapt off of the pillar and fell after me. As I fell, pictures and images flashed before my eyes. His story was true. What he was had happened.

To me.

He caught me and swung us over to a safe ledge. "You okay? You didn't get hurt?"

"Robin," I whispered. I still didn't really know him, but I could remember a few things about him. "Why are you doing this?"

He was still holding on to me. "You _do_ remember, don't you," he asked as my feelings flooded through the bond.

I nodded and looked away from him. "The story you were telling—I can _see_ it. Bits and pieces. You, our friends, my father. Like it was a dream." I shook my head. "A nightmare. Whatever it was, it's over."

"Raven," said Robin gently. "There may still be a way to—"

"Nobody can stop him," I told him. "I remember _that_. You came down here for nothing."

"I came down here for _you_."

Tears flooded to my eyes. This boy that I hardly knew—but _did_ know at the same time—why had he come to save me? I'm useless! "Why? I can't help! My powers came from him! And now that he's done with me, I don't have them anymore! There was a prophecy, Robin, and it came true. It's all over now.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's the end of the world. But so what? We're still here, still fighting, still friends."

Oh, how _annoying_ his hope was! "Look at me, Robin! There's _nothing_ I can do! There isn't any hope."

"Then I guess I'll just have to have enough hope for the both of us." He pulled me back onto his shoulders and smiled.

There is definitely something wrong with him. Where does a person like him get his hope from? Where does he find the strength the carry on when all else seems like it's failed?

I want that hope. I want that strength.

Maybe they'll help me know who I am.

Robin and I reached the surface and came upon the robot, the green boy, and the alien as they tried to fight their way through the fire demons. Robin set me down and said, "Stay behind me."

I watched as he threw a couple of devices into the oncoming doom. The demons exploded on impact with the devices.

"Robin," cried the alien.

"Dude," said the green one with a fanged smile, "you're alive!"

I clung to Robin's leg as they came closer. They didn't scare me, but I was afraid of what they would think to see me in this form.

"Raven," the robot asked.

I didn't want to stay and hear the story that I already knew. I stayed off to the side, watching them, trying to remember who they are—_were_ to me.

"So her powers are gone," said the robot when I decided to tune back in. I think his name was Cy—something once. I still haven't got a full grasp on who he is. "She really can't help us?"

I knew that bringing me back was pointless. I'm useless! There's nothing I can do for them. The time they spend with me no is only wasting the moments they'll have before they die.

"Least we still got that ring of Azar thingy so Trigon can't—"The green boy stopped talking when the alien girl held up a broken piece of jewelry. "Oh, crud."

"This is it," said Robin. "One final attack. Him or us. All or nothing." He walked over to me and placed his hands upon my shoulders. Through our bond, I recognized the names of the others. "This is _your_ story, Raven, and I'm not sure what happens next. I know it seems hopeless, but I believe that, when the time is right, you _will_ know what to do."

I screamed as Father picked up the boulder that sheltered us. Correction: _had_ sheltered us. With a curling smile, he growled, "What strange vermin cower beneath my rocks?"

"Now," cried Robin to the Titans.

I was left to watch my friends as they went into battle with Father. There was no hope of them winning.

"I have endured your existence long enough," said Father. From his eyes, he shot a beam that trapped my friends in a large ball of red energy. "Your world has ended! Your time is up!"

I stepped forward, silent, even though my insides threatened to scream themselves hoarse. I wanted to do something, but I knew I was useless. I would not be the one to save them.

Fortunately, someone else decided that _he_ would be.

The man I remembered to be Slade leapt from the top of the building closest to Father and used a glowing axe to remove one of Father's horns. Father cried out in pain and clutched at the side of his head, dropping my friends.

Normally, people would run away and enjoy their freedom from Father while it lasted.

The Titans aren't normal.

"Titans, go," Robin screamed, for what I was sure would be the last time.

"I don't believe it," I whispered after a few moments of watching their battle. "They're…_hurting_ him." Father can't be hurt, at least not by a small group of teenagers. It's impossible. Many brave and strong warriors of other worlds have fallen to him, but my father can be stopped by a couple of teenage outcasts?

Father cried out again as his other horn was detached from his head. "_Enough_," he screamed suddenly before blasting Slade into the rubble behind me.

I knew what was about to come before it had. "No," I pleaded. There was no one to hear me, but I felt better saying it out loud. I watched my friends as they were blasted with the same energy.

No one would come out alive.

I raced forward and took in their unconscious bodies with a swoop of my eyes. "No," I said again. I went around to each of my friends and tried to wake them up, get them standing. Beast Boy stirred a little bit, but he didn't do anything else after that.

I moved on to Robin, on the verge of tears. "Get up!" I begged. "Robin, _please_ get up!"

A shadow fell over me as Father came to my side. Death had finally caught up with me. "Farewell, dear daughter." His eyes shot a beam at me.

I instinctively raised my hands to protect me and shut my eyes.

The end didn't come.

As a matter of fact, it had stopped. _I_ had stopped it. I had my powers back.

"How," I whispered to myself. How had I managed to hold on to some of my powers?

_Raven's_ powers.

"You may have retained some trace of my power, but you are _still_ not threat to me, little girl."

_Rachel Roth_ was the daughter born to Arella. _Rachel Roth_ was placed in an institution during the duration of her childhood. _Rachel Roth_ learned to control her emotions and accept her destiny.

"_I_ am your creator. Your _master_!"

_Raven_ emerged from the institution. It was _Raven_ who came to Earth to fulfill her destiny. It was _Raven_ who found friendship and love. It was _Raven_ who learned to _unlock_ her emotions and make her _own_ destiny.

"You exist _only_ to serve me. You survive because _I_ allow it."

I am both Raven _and_ Rachel Roth. I have done the things that Raven and Rachel Roth have done. I have experienced the things that Raven and Rachel Roth have. I know the things Raven and Rachel Roth do.

"What hope can a mere _child_ have of defeating her _all-powerful father_?"

And I know one more thing that neither of them know: I know who I am.

_I am them_.

I stood up as light overpowered the darkness within me. "You may have created me," I told him as my features changed. This was not the bad pain like before. I was changing, _growing_. "But you were _never_ my father," I said as I emerged from the light.

I didn't have to look at myself to know that I had taken my true form. My white robes trailed behind me as I stepped forward. I raised my hands and blasted Trigon with devastating blasts of white energy.

Relief washed over me as my friends began to wake up, but I pushed that feeling aside. I had different things to focus on.

Trigon turned toward me with a raised hand. "Wretched, insignificant—"

I blasted him again. "Fathers are _kind_!" Another blast. "Fathers _protect_ you!" Another blast. "Fathers _raise_ you!" This blast brought Trigon to his knees. "I was _protected_ by the monks of Azarath. I was _raised_ by my friends!"

My friends touched my shoulder and gave me more of my power back. The white energy lifted me into the air so that I was eye level with Trigon. "_They_ are my family; _this_ is my home; and _you_ are not welcome here!"

I could feel it, the light. It was threatening to explode. It wanted to shine.

I let it.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!"

My soul-self took over, embodying a white raven, and captured Trigon in its wings. He struggled for a moment, but it proved to do him no good. The light overcame him. It forced him back into the fiery pit he'd emerged from. The light reversed his dark effects on the world. Stone became flesh, the sun shone, and we lived on.

I lived on.

I lowered myself to the ground, where my friends waited for me.

"Raven," said Starfire. "That was—"

"Unbelievable," Cyborg finished for her.

I smiled at them. "No, it wasn't." I pulled Robin into a hug. "_Somebody_ believed." Because of him, I'd found my hope. I found my strength. I knew who I was.

"Welcome back," he told me as he returned the hug.

"Okay, you're freakin' me out here," cried Beast Boy suddenly. His voice pulled me away from Robin. "The white robe and smile are weird enough, but…_hugs_? Are you still _you_?"

I allowed myself to smile at him this once. "Blue is still my favorite color. And don't get used to the smile, 'cause you're _still_ not funny." To emphasize my words, I stopped smiling at him.

Beast Boy's face turned upwards in a large smile. He threw himself at me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Raven," he cried happily.

"Quit it," I told him with the best emotionless voice I could muster. I wanted to hug him back. I wanted to cry because after all of this, he wanted to know if I was still _me_. Instead, I acted the way that I would normally act—because that is how he _wants_ me to act. He wants me to remain _me._

When we returned to the Tower, I cut my hair again and changed clothes. For the first time ever, I actually _smiled _at myself in the mirror before I left the room.

"Alright, y'all," cried Cyborg as I entered the living room. "Four Eyes is history, his ghoulies are gone, and we just saved the whole dang universe! Who wants French toast?"

"Oh, yes, me please," Starfire said with a large smile. "I shall consume them with gravy and the butter of peanuts."

Gross. I crossed the room and stared out the window.

"And I've got enough tofu bacon for everybody who wants it," cried Beast Boy.

"So just enough for you," Cyborg asked.

"Exactly."

"Observe," cried Starfire suddenly. I turned and watched her as she grabbed Beast Boy's bacon and held it above her head. "I am a rofien zobgar!" She giggled.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and I stared at her in confusion. I understood that it was supposed to be a joke, though.

"On my planet," she said, "this is hilarious."

Beast boy and Cyborg started to laugh, encouraging Starfire to make more faces.

I smiled, shook my head, and turned back to the window. Robin joined me. "Slade got away," I asked him. That wasn't the question I had wanted to ask him.

He nodded. "If he ever shows his face again, we'll be ready."

"How do you do it, Robin?"

"Do what?"

"Keep hoping. After everything that happened—everything I did—how did you still manage to hope that it would all work out?"

"Because of you. You don't realize it, Raven, but you're actually the most hopeful person I've ever met. From the day you were born, they said you were evil—that you were created to do unspeakable things—but you wished for more. You dared to hope that you could be a hero."

I'm not sure if he knows that because of the bond we share or because he actually knows that about me. Still, I appreciate him for saying that. It's why I can be honest with him. "I thought it was all over. And now, suddenly…"

He knows what I mean. "You have your whole life ahead of you. You can decide your own destiny."

I smiled. "I guess, in the end, there really is no end—just new beginnings." I turned toward the others. Beast Boy and Cyborg were making Starfire laugh by joining in on her Tamaranian joke. "So what's the deal? Are we having a party in here or not?"

"Glorious," cried Starfire. She grabbed my hands and pulled me into the kitchen. I did my best not to frown at the way she chose to eat the French toast—after all, she _had_ eaten my pancakes.

After breakfast, I followed through with my promises from the day before. I painted my toenails with Starfire—it was an odd experience, but strangely relaxing. I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. Starfire used a red that was so brilliant, it put the shine in her hair to shame; I refused to have a bright color, so she gave me a blue that matched my clothes.

I didn't let her paint my fingernails. I can only accept so much at one time. Starfire understood that—I think she was just happy that I had agreed to let her paint my toes. We sat in her room and talked while we waited for our nails to dry.

"Hey, Star," cried Beast Boy just as I was about to tell Starfire about him. He opened the door to her room and peered inside. "Have you seen—Raven! Are you still up for extreme Stank Ball?" He dangled the referee cloak in front of him.

I sighed and tossed Starfire a knowing look. She giggled and shooed me away. I followed Beast Boy into the hallway, unsure of what to say to him.

"So," he said slowly, "are you okay?"

After everything that had happened today, _that_ was his question? I can't really judge, I guess. I didn't have anything better to day either. "I'm…better," I replied quietly.

"I mean…about what happened…back there."

"A lot of things 'happened back there'," I told him. I was forced to stop when he put his hand on my shoulder. I already knew what he was talking about; I just didn't want to admit it.

"Look, I know…what happened back there was…strange. I wasn't sure how you were gonna take it, actually. It's why I let Robin come to get you. I didn't think you'd want to come back…"

_With him_, I finished in my head. He thought I didn't want to come back with him. Even in that state, I'm sure I would've gone with him…eventually. "Beast Boy…"

"I just…I don't wanna force you into anything, you know?" He shook his head. "I'm not even completely sure about how I feel."

"Neither am I," I admitted. "But…Robin told me that I was in control of my destiny now."

He glanced away from me. "Yeah, you are."

If I was going to say it, now was the best time. "And I would like to know that you're in it somewhere."

He said nothing. He stared at me for what seemed like forever.

His silence unnerved me. I'd fought monsters and villains, but none of them had made me fret as much as Beast Boy was now. I decided to try and take back my words. "But don't think that means—"

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss beside my lips. It was enough to make my whole body tremble. Whatever I'd been about to say got lost in my head.

His mouth touched mine, slow at first, as if making sure I wanted it. His chest expanded as if he took in a deep breath. And suddenly all I felt was the warmth of his body against mine. He pulled me up a few inches until his lips touched mine again.

I didn't try to stop him. Oh no, I actually climbed up higher on his chest so the kiss wouldn't be awkward. His hand moved to the back of my neck. He shifted my head slightly so my mouth was more accessible to his. The slightly sharp texture of his fang felt wonderful. His tongue moved inside. Slowly at first, then without hesitation. Warmth built inside me and I couldn't seem to get close enough to him.

_More_. I wanted more.

I ran my fingers through his dark hair, loving how the strands felt. Loving all the emotions swirling through me, over me, making me feel so alive, so new.

It wasn't until I heard voices nearby that I came to my senses. I pulled my mouth from his and pushed back a few inches. His eyes opened and he stared at me with a hooded gaze. I saw the wilderness in his eyes, a hunger like I'd never seen before. More than anything, I wanted to be the one to feed his hunger and taste the wilderness. Then the voices drew closer. And right then, everything I felt was just too much.

I moved away from him, as unsure of these new emotions as I was of my ability to stand up on my own two feet. "We should…I heard…"

"They're not coming this way," he said. He glanced at me through his dark lashes. Exhaling, he scrubbed his palm over his face. "I probably shouldn't have done that, should I?"

"Probably not," I agreed, even though I wouldn't give the moment back for anything.

"Then forget it happened, okay? Just forget it ever happened."

"I don't think I can forget." I'd be remembering this kiss and this moment years from now. This was my first real taste of passion. "I don't think I _want_ to forget. What are we gonna do?"

He stared at me again before a curling smile returned to his lips. "Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Go out."

"But the Titans…"

"Who cares what they think? Robin and Starfire—"

"We aren't Robin and Starfire. We're _us_."

"We're more than _that_, Raven." He ran a hand through his hair. "We could be, at least. If you want to."

"I…do." It was hard to say those words. Giving in to my selfish emotions will _definitely_ take some getting used to. "I just…"

"Then we don't tell," Beast Boy said with a shrug. "When you're ready, we'll let them know. But until then…" He smiled at me.

Beast Boy has moments when he surprises me. This is one of them. It wasn't a bad idea. And like he said, when I was ready, we would tell. And I _would_ be ready one day. "We're really gonna do this?"

"Yeah. We are."

**A/N: And there you have it. ON TO SEASON FIVE! Get ready for a whole new Raven (not really, she's still the Raven we love) and consistent jabs in the "feels". :D**


	21. Chapter Twenty: Homecoming

Dating Beast Boy doesn't come without its complications. You never know how hard it is to do something in secret until you're supposed to hide something. Everyone seemed to be around us at some point in time—not that I _really_ minded. Time with Beast Boy always meant that we had to be aware of the others' possible intrusions.

Surprisingly, Beast Boy was doing a _marvelous_ job at hiding our…situation. He acts just as he normally would around me, which makes it easier for me to pretend as well. Sometimes I'm not pretending to be annoyed with him. He still does stupid things that get on my nerves, but I've grown to tolerate them a bit more.

It's odd, dating someone. Six months ago, I would've thought that I was incapable of love. Witches don't have hearts, and, therefore, aren't able to produce love. But I'm different now. I can feel it. I have to constantly remember not to be so hard on myself. I have to remind myself that I _can_ feel and I _can_ love.

I don't know if I would go as far as to say that I love Beast Boy, though. He is fascinating and he does inspire me to feel, but I'm not sure if that counts as love. I'm not even sure what love is yet. It's such a new experience to me—and I refuse to have a repeat of Malchior.

Beast Boy's nothing like Malchior, though. He continues to surprise me every day. As a matter of fact, he does a better job at hiding our relationship than I do.

At least, he makes it _easier_—especially when he does things that annoy me.

"Now introducing," said Beast Boy in a loud voice. "Beast Boy's All Star Prop Comedy Revue. I know what you're thinking…there's nothing more annoying than when you can't play your tuba in the bathtub."

"More annoying than _this_," I asked as I peered at him behind my book. Cyborg and Robin were falling asleep on him.

Starfire seemed to be the only one who was interested in this foolishness. "Please continue!"

Beast Boy smiled and placed a mask over his head. "Well, that won't be a problem if you have a tub-orkel! Get it? It's part tuba, part snorkel! Tub-orkel!" He started to play the accursed thing, much to my displeasure.

Suddenly, the alarm in the Tower started to go off.

Cyborg sat up and fist pumped the air. "Alright! We're under attack," he cried happily, much to _Beast Boy's_ displeasure.

A mechanical ball broke through the door to the living room and stopped in front of us as we raised our hands in defense. For several moments, everything was silent. No one moved.

Cyborg was the first to question it. "So, uh, why isn't it attackin'?"

"Because it's for me," said Beast Boy with a solemn face. He turned toward the ball and allowed it to scan him.

Shock kept me from saying anything. I guess there are many things about him that I still don't know.

"Beast Boy," said the ball as a picture of a man appeared on it. The man had on a suit similar to Beast Boy's—and a mask just as ridiculous as Beast Boy's old one. "If this locator pod has found you, then you know what it means."

"The Doom Patrol's in trouble," he confirmed as his head fell.

"Our last location was in the Amazon jungle. You should begin your search there. Beast Boy, you know what must be done. I'm counting on you." The message disappeared.

We wasted no time getting into the T-ship and making our way to the Amazon. Beast Boy repeated the man's message the entire time. I couldn't get him to look away for even a second.

"What could've happened to them," Robin wondered as we flew over the trees, searching for anything.

"It's the Brotherhood of Evil," said Beast Boy suddenly. "After we stopped their black hole machine years ago, they went underground. Mento must've finally found them."

"Hey guys," said Cyborg suddenly. "I'm pickin' something up."

We landed immediately. Beast Boy was the first one to exit the ship, but he waited for the rest of us to catch up to him.

Cyborg led us deeper into the forest until we came to a giant bush. The sight behind it made us all gasp.

"Beast Boy," said Starfire, "is this—"

"The Doom Patrol's ship," he confirmed. "Or what's left of it."

The damage was so bad that it took me a moment to realize that it used to be a jet. Moss and vines had long since wrapped themselves around the exterior of the ship.

Cyborg lifted his arm to the wreckage. "Well, nobody's home."

"Then we start looking," Robin told us.

"They could be anywhere," I said, thinking of all the vast places they could end up being in the _Amazon_.

"Then we'll look _everywhere_," Beast Boy declared as he took off into the forest.

We caught up to him and began our search. I was surprised to see Beast Boy so serious. I'd rarely ever seen him serious about _anything_. He was so serious, in fact, that he didn't speak to us for the first hour of our search.

"This patrol of doom," said Starfire, "why do you never speak of them?"

"Seriously," Cyborg agreed. "The Doom Patrol are legends. You gotta have some good stories."

"It was something I did once," Beast Boy shrugged. "I'm a Titan now." He glanced back over his shoulder and frowned at the distance between us. "You're moving too slow!" He morphed into a raven and flew off.

"He's acting strange," I said to the team. "Even for Beast Boy."

"I think he's just worried," said Robin. "The Doom Patrol raised him. They're like his family."

"_No_!" cried Beast Boy suddenly.

I was the first person to the sight of his agony. A large, orange robot had been strung up on a tree with a sign that said _TRESPASSERS BEWARE_! It was pretty obvious that the robot had been through a lot—his circuits were beginning to fall out.

"Robot Man," cried Beast Boy as he shook the robot's leg. "Come on! Wake up! It's me, Beast Boy!" He turned toward us with desperate eyes. "Cyborg, you have to fix him!"

"I'll do everything I can," Cyborg promised. He managed to get Robot Man down from the tree and immediately began to work on him.

Beast Boy withdrew to the back of the group and I followed him. I knew without having to tune into his emotions that he was in turmoil. I put my hand on his shoulder in consolation. In response, Beast Boy reached up and intertwined my fingers with his. He offered me a small smile in thanks.

"I'm pickin' up brainwaves," said Cyborg suddenly, tearing us apart. "He's alive in there…somewhere."

"Brainwaves," Starfire repeated, just as confused as I was.

"The only part of him that's actually _alive_. The rest is just machine. In a lot of ways, he's a prototype of me." He pressed a button on Robot Man's chest. "Cross your fingers."

Robot Man sat up and yelled, "Mento, I'm on my way!" He stood and took off into the forest.

"Robot Man," Beast Boy yelled after him. "Stop!"

He left a pretty obvious trail of fallen trees behind him for us to follow. When we all finally got to the scene, we found Robot Man inside of a stone building—he had already destroyed the building's defenses.

"Cliff, what's going on," Beast Boy asked.

Cliff? I was momentarily distracted by the sound of Robot Man's real name. I _definitely_ preferred Robot Man.

"An ambush came out of nowhere," Robot Man told us as he searched for his team members. "Negative Man! They can't have gotten far."

"Robot Man," said Cyborg in a strong voice, halting the robot. "I had to reset your internal chronometer when I repaired you. You've been offline."

"How long?"

Beast Boy checked Cyborg's arm and frowned.

"I said how long?"

"Five months," Beast Boy told him.

Robot Man slammed his fist into the wall beside him. "Five _months_? Why'd they have to build me with an off-switch?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," said Cyborg. "By the looks of things, you really took a pounding."

"We should've been able to handle it," said Robot Man as he abandoned the wall and walked up to us. "We always do."

I hadn't realized how short we all were compared to him before he stood in front of us like that. Robot Man must've realized the same thing, because he started to frown at all of us. "This is your new group," he asked Beast Boy. "It's just a bunch of kids!"

Beast Boy frowned back at him. "Nice to see you too, Cliff."

Cliff? I would've preferred "Robot Man". What kind of names did these Doom Patrol members have? Robot Man? Mento? He's discouraged because we're a little younger, but at least none of us are named after _candies_.

"Sorry, squirt," said Robot Man with a somewhat apologetic frown. "They got us good, kid. We thought we had 'em."

"It's not too late, Cliff. We can still find 'em."

"You better believe we will. I'm gonna squash that Brain if it's the last thing I do," said Robot Man determinedly.

I frowned. Some team _they _were. "I think he was talking about finding the _Doom Patrol_." What kind of team isn't worried about being together?

Robot Man seemed a little embarrassed. "Oh…right."

Explosions in the distance caused us all to turn toward the forest. Trees started to fall in straight line toward us.

"Take cover," Robin ordered. "We don't know what we're up against."

"You might wanna tell that to _him_," said Cyborg as he pointed off to Robot Man.

Robot Man was racing toward the explosions, ignoring everything that Robin had just said. I glanced up at Cyborg and muttered, "You sure he has a brain in there?" To that, Cyborg smiled.

Beast Boy charged after Robot Man, crying, "Titans, go!"

I looked to Robin to see how he would handle Beast Boy stealing his line. Robin took it pretty well. "You heard him," he told the rest of us. "Go!"

With a loud battle cry, Robot Man leapt forward, into the claw of the giant tree-cutting machine. It threw him to the ground and raised a saw buzz from its chest.

Beast Boy morphed into an elephant mid-leap and crushed the arm that held the saw buzz.

"Not bad, kid," said Robot Man as he stood up.

Beast Boy smiled. "Just wait 'till you see my—"He grunted as the claw of the machine swung into him, knocking him backwards.

I caught him before he hit the ground.

"Thanks," he said to me as he dusted himself off.

"Would it kill you to wait until the battle is _over_ before you start trying to impress him?" I asked him with a frown.

He chuckled nervously and said, "Right, gotcha." And with that, he rejoined the fighting.

I lifted giant rocks over my head and threw it toward the machine. The rocks broke against its shell, but it didn't seem to harm the robot. Starfire blasted it with her eyes beams, and Cyborg hit it with his cannon blasts, but nothing seemed to be working.

"How do you stop this thing," asked Cyborg as he lowered his cannon.

Robot Man ran up the arm of the machine and tore off its head with his bare hands. Then, because no machine _ever_ stops just by simply beheading it, he jumped inside. Moments later, the machine exploded into millions of bits and pieces.

"That was most…daring," said Starfire.

"I was gonna say unnecessary," I told her. Robot Man emerged from the dust of the explosions, as if proving my point.

"Robot Man," said Robin with his arms crossed. "I know you want to stop the Brain, but we're never going to find him unless we work together. Attacking everything that moves isn't going to help."

Robot Man crossed his arms as well. "If he builds it, I'm gonna break it. That's the way we do things in the Doom Patrol."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed," said Beast Boy, "this _isn't_ the Doom Patrol. Cliff, this is the way it has to be. At least until we find Mento."

Robot Man uncrossed his arms and walked off into the forest. "This isn't kid stuff, Beast Boy. You think you can handle it?"

"You have no _idea_ what we can handle."

Obviously, Tin Brain over here hadn't heard about how the Titans had managed to defeat Trigon. I think after handling _that_, we can handle _anything_.

We managed to find another one of the machines. Robin studied it with his binoculars while Robot Man told us everything he knew about those things.

"The Brain built these things to scavenge raw materials. He's got the whole jungle crawling with them," said Robot Man.

Robin put his binoculars away and said, "So if we _follow_ one, it might lead us to the Brain."

"Well, aren't _you_ the clever one," said Robot Man, obviously annoying Robin.

Following the machine proved to be a more difficult feat than I had imagined. Robot Man was not an easy person to travel with—I'm not sure how Beast Boy managed to deal with it all those years.

Finally, we managed to follow it to a giant stone fortress that was built in between the crevice of a rather large canyon.

"I'd say we found it," said Robin.

"Any idea what 'it' is," I asked him in return.

"Good point. Let's wait here until we know the defenses behind it. We'll be better prepared for an attack if we know what our enemy has up against us."

The stakeout was long and unbearable—we stayed in the group until the sun started to go down. As expected from Robin, he wanted us to stay together so that we could all learn from it. Fortunately, Cyborg managed to persuade him to let us all choose to go our own way and then regroup later.

Without saying anything, I knew that this was my chance to get away from the others and spend some time with Beast Boy. I'm always so amazed at how much time I truly want to spend with him.

Unfortunately for me, Starfire also wanted to join me on the stakeout. "Raven, might I join you?"

"Oh," I said quietly. "I'm not sure that's a great idea, Starfire?"

"Why?"

Lying to Starfire is like lying to a little kid—you feel bad about doing it, but you don't want to tell them the truth either. "The whole point of Robin sending us off was because we're too noticeable in a group. It's better for us all to go off on our own."

"Oh," she said sadly. "I understand. I wish you fair tidings on your part of the search." She flew up through the trees and in the direction I'd just come from.

Leaves rustled behind me. "I didn't know you were so popular," said a familiar voice.

I turned and faced Beast Boy as he emerged from the shadows of the trees. The sun that managed to break through the leaves above us created a soft halo around his head. Or perhaps that's just the view I have of him now that we're dating.

He smiled my favorite smile. "Are you gonna send me off, too?"

"I ought to," I told him. "You've been so worried this whole time—I'm surprised that you even came to see me."

He shrugged, as if my comment really hadn't bothered him all that much. "Last year, I wouldn't have come to see you."

"I know," I said as he closed the distance between us.

"Last _month_, I would've come to see you. And now…"

"And now," I asked him as I glanced up into his eyes.

He reached down and touched my cheek. "Now…" he said, spreading his fingers, letting them get tangled in my hair. "Now…" He pulled my head up closer to his. "Now?" he whispered.

I couldn't fight it anymore. I closed my eyes.

With both hands, he pulled my face swiftly up to his. Then his rough hands relaxed, and the kiss was long and light and delicious. He lifted my face and kissed me softly on the throat.

I moved my mouth down and we started kissing again. Then we both froze, startled by the sound of our T-communicators as they began to beep and Robin called us back.

Beast Boy rolled his head back and laughed a little. "Our chaperons have arrived."

I felt how slowly and reluctantly his fingers let me go. I longed to pull him back to me; I yearned for another one of his sweet kisses. Then I remembered what I had really wanted to talk to him about. "You shouldn't do that," I warned him as we started to walk back.

"Do what?"

"Distract me so that you won't have to deal with what's really wrong."

"I distract you," he asked me with a curling smile.

I forced myself to frown at him. "I can sense that you're worried about the Doom Patrol. You know that we'll find them, right? The Titans can do anything." Normally, I would've been surprised at my hopefulness. But after everything we'd been through… "You know that, right?"

"I know that the Brotherhood of Evil don't play around," he said with darkness trailing behind him. He remained silent the rest of the trip back. I kicked myself for ruining the good vibe we'd just had between us.

When we reached the others, no one questioned why Beast Boy and I had arrived at the same time—they didn't have time to, because Robin called us to him immediately. He looked through his binoculars for a while and then said, "From here, we split up. Cyborg, you'll take the front. Starfire and Raven, take out those guard towers. Beast Boy, you've gotta get the security door open."

Three of the resource machines crashed through the trees behind us, making us all turn around. I realized that Robin hadn't yet assigned Robot Man or himself to anything. I guess nature found something for them to do.

"What about these guys? _Now_ can I beat 'em up," asked Robot Man as he glanced back at Robin.

"Titans, go," cried Robin.

Starfire and I immediately went to the guard towers. "Do you think that the guard towers will have defenses of their own?"

She _had_ to say something. Someone must've seen us, because red beams of light started shooting out from the four guard towers. I didn't even have to say anything to her; I just glared. She took the two on the right, and I went for the two on the left.

I raised my hands above my head and cried, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" My black energy encased the guard towers and took out the guns that were shooting at me. I peeked inside and realized that the people there had been knocked out. Hopefully, they'd stay like that for a while.

An explosion drew my attention to the guard towers that Starfire had taken on. I turned just in time to see her blow up her towers with her eye blasts. Aliens.

"Starfire, Raven," cried Robin from below us. He and Robot Man were racing toward us with one of the machines chasing after them.

I flew forward and created a large shield, protecting them from the laser that the machine was emitting. Cyborg and Starfire blasted the machine from both sides of my shield.

Beast Boy came trudging up the hill and told us, "I couldn't get the door open."

"I got your door, kid," said Robot Man as he charged toward the machine. He grabbed it by its wheels and lifted it above his head. With a grunt, he tossed it towards the building, creating an opening in the wall.

"Concede," cried a voice in the dust. "Admit that I have won."

"Won what," asked Robot Man as we climbed through the hole. "Sure ain't a beauty contest."

"Your tin soldier seems to be fixed, Mento," said a brain in a jar. Literally, he was _in_ a large jar on wheels. He abandoned the man hanging from a device attached to his head and turned toward us.

"He can thank _us_ for that," said Beast Boy.

"Oh, look," said the Brain in a monotone voice, "the little green one. How nice. A family reunion." His guards raised their guns at us.

We didn't need Robin to tell us that we needed to "go". We went. Beast Boy, Robin, and Robot Man took out the guards on the far left side while Cyborg, Starfire, and I took out the guards on the right.

I encased a ledge that guards were standing on and collapsed it so that they wouldn't shoot at Starfire. Then, because I had forgotten about the guards behind me, I had to duck out of the way of their line of fire.

Cyborg raced toward the woman in captivity. "Raven, cover me!"

Not like I'm already busy with something else. I managed to make my way down to Cyborg and the three captives and shielded us from the lasers. Robot Man broke the container that held a man with bandages over his face. The body slumped to the floor. Cyborg opened the ball of energy that had the woman trapped and freed her. Starfire managed to break a small hole in the case that contained the bandaged body's soul-self. I can recognize that kind of energy when I see it.

The bandaged body stood up as his soul-self returned to him and shivered. "Could you have at _least_ thawed me out first?" he asked Robot Man as he stood up.

Suddenly, I found myself knocked to the ground as Beast Boy tackled me out of the way of a laser that was controlled by a giant gorilla. He helped me to my feet before he hurried to the man who still had a machine strapped to his head.

"Mento, I'm here," he told the man as he freed him from his restraints. "I got your message!"

"Beast Boy, look out," cried Robin suddenly.

Beast Boy wasn't fast enough in his reaction. The laser struck him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall behind him.

"All of you," cried Mento angrily, "take him down!" He pressed his forefingers to his temples and emitted a wave of energy form his head, taking down the machine in front of him.

Though every part of my body screamed for me to go to Beast Boy, I did as I was told. After Robot Man and I had destroyed the group of guards that we'd both ended up going after, I flew around the giant gorilla in hopes of distracting him. Sure enough, he followed me with his laser instead of going after my friends.

Robin took over for me and I raced towards Cyborg, who was surrounded. Just as the lasers had been fired, I sank down on Cyborg and transported us both through the ground and over to Robin, who was struggling with the gorilla.

I didn't have to tell Cyborg what I would be doing. I appeared out of the ground in front of Robin and released Cyborg onto the gorilla. Cyborg blasted the ape with his cannon and sent him flying into the wall.

Mento sent another wave of energy at the group of guards in front of us, destroying them. He and the rest of our group joined us in front of Brain and the gorilla.

"Things look thin, don't they, Monsieur Mallah," asked the Brain.

Suddenly, lasers from inside the wall encased us all in a giant bubble of energy. Nothing any of us did managed to break through. The ground started to shake underneath us, drawing our attention to the machine Mento had damaged earlier. It seemed like the thing was going to explode.

"And a thermo genic chain reaction," said the Brain, almost seeming pleased. "Well done, Mento. I couldn't have found a better end for you myself." The ground opened up behind him, revealing a jet that they could escape in.

I pounded the walls of energy, hoping that somehow, we'd get out of this. I looked back to see if I could help any of the others, and caught sight of Beast Boy as he stood up. He wasn't trapped with us! "Beast Boy," I cried happily.

"Beast Boy," Mento yelled. "Stop them!"

Beast Boy frowned and grumbled something, but I couldn't hear it over the explosions.

"This place is comin' down," cried Cyborg as the Brain and Mallah entered the jet. "You gotta get us out!"

"Please," Starfire begged, "you must hurry!"

"Never mind us," yelled Mento. "Get that power core! Beast Boy, don't make the same mistake twice! Do what I say!"

"Please," I asked Beast Boy as he morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I didn't know what Mento was talking about, but I knew that Beast Boy didn't need to listen to him.

Mento shouted in protest as Beast Boy swung his tail and destroyed the lasers that were creating the ball of energy around us. Once it was down, Beast Boy morphed back into his regular self and came over to our group.

"Raven, get us out of here," Robin told me.

"With pleasure." I spread my arms, captured us all in my black magic, and escaped us to the cliff we'd used as our stakeout point earlier.

Beast Boy looked out at the building as it exploded.

Robin put his hand on his shoulder. "You did it, Beast Boy."

"And just in the nick of time," Cyborg said with a smile.

"We are most thankful," said Starfire as she clasped her hands together.

"Way to go," I told him.

Beast Boy smiled at us and then looked over at the Doom Patrol. "I got everyone safe."

"But you let the _Brain_ get away," said Mento with his arms crossed. "How could you be so _foolish_?"

"Mento," said the woman gently before Mento silenced her.

"He saved our lives," said Robin as he went to stand beside Beast Boy. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"No. He's only delayed our destruction," said Mento.

Beast Boy frowned back at the condescending man. "You'll keep looking for him, just like you always did…sir."

"You don't understand. I read the Brain's _mind_, Beast Boy. He has a _new_ quantum generator—and it works. The most _devastating_ power in the cosmos is now in the hands of a _madman_, because _you_ couldn't follow orders!" He uncrossed his arms and looked at the rest of his team. "We've got a planet to save. Doom Patrol, move out!"

None of them even said goodbye to Beast Boy, but he still wanted us to go and try to help them find the Brain. None of us openly said that we were against the idea, but then again, none of us had to—it was _that_ obvious.

Robin stopped the Doom Patrol and offered our help. They refused it at first, until Robin pointed out that their ship was destroyed and they would need a place to rest. And so, that was how they ended up camping out with us in the forest.

Mento was with Robin and Cyborg, trying to help them figure out where the Brain was headed next; I was able to spend some time with Negative Man, who reminds me more of myself in any way I could've imagined; Beast Boy spent time with Elastigirl, who must've been like his surrogate mother or something. She was talking to him while she sewed a piece of clothing together.

"There," said Mento suddenly. "Stop!"

"Mento, are you sure," Cyborg asked. "All these mountains look the same to me."

"I read the Brain's mind before he got away. I _know_ where he's hiding! The quantum generator is there. Doom Patrol, listen up! Every second we delay gives the Brotherhood of Evil another chance to use their weapon. It's time to move out!"

"Already," Beast Boy asked Elastigirl. I could tell that he missed spending time with her.

She smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "There's no time to rest, Beast Boy. We'll be fine."

"You don't _look_ fine," he muttered, though none of them heard him.

"What about air defenses," Cyborg asked Mento as his team gathered behind him. "We fly anywhere near that base, and they're gonna start blastin'!"

Mento rolled his eyes. "Which is _exactly_ why we're going on _foot_." He walked over to Beast Boy.

I felt myself tense up. I know that people normally give others the benefit of the doubt, but I don't like Mento. He doesn't talk to us like we're heroes, and he _especially_ doesn't talk to Beast Boy like he was a member of his team once.

Mento took the article of clothing from Elastigirl's hands and gave it to Beast Boy. "And when I say 'we' I mean the Doom Patrol. _All_ of us." The clothing turned out to be a mask that was just as goofy-looking as his last one.

Robin stood up and crossed his arms. "If Beast Boy goes, then so do we."

"I _really_ wouldn't go there," said Negative Man. "Trust me."

Robot Man said, "You kids have no idea what you're up against."

"Well, from the looks of things, you need all the help you can get," said Cyborg with a frown. Apparently, he was tired of them talking down to us, too. He pushed me toward Negative Man as he squared off with Robot Man.

I looked back at Beast Boy, who was looking at his mask. I knew no matter what we said, nothing would change anything if his mind was made. This was a decision Beast Boy would have to make for himself.

"Listen up, punks," cried Robot Man. "The little runt was in the Doom Patrol long before you got your claws on him. So back off!"

"Excuse me," yelled Cyborg, "but I don't see a sign sayin' 'Property of Doom Patrol'! So that means you don't own him!"

"This is _my_ mission," said Mento as he stepped into the argument. "And I'll see that it runs uncompromised."

"Beast Boy is a Titan now," said Robin.

"I'll go," said Beast Boy in a whisper. No one else heard him.

"Please," Starfire asked, "Beast Boy is our friend."

Elastigirl said, "You have to understand—this is _our_ responsibility."

Their voices began to overlap each other, with everyone screaming to be heard. Besides Beast Boy, it seemed that only Negative Man and I were left out of the fight.

"All of this arguing is _pointless_," I said to them, though I was sure I wasn't heard. "Why don't you just let him make up his own mind? Come on, you're giving me a headache!"

Beast Boy put his hand on my shoulder and then stepped forward. "I said I'll go!"

That stopped everyone in their tracks. I don't think even I anticipated the idea of Beast Boy wanting to go with them. It didn't hurt, so much as surprise me.

"Beast Boy," said Robin. "You don't have to do this."

"Actually, I do." He pulled the mask over his head and tucked in his ears.

"Then it's settled," said Mento. "Doom Patrol, move out!" He and the others disappeared into the forest.

Beast Boy stayed behind for a moment and gave us all a smile. "Don't worry guys. I'll be fine." He gave us a thumbs-up just to emphasize and then took off.

"Robin," said Starfire, "we must do something. We cannot just leave."

"That's the last thing we're going to do, Starfire," he told her.

I looked down and realized that Beast Boy had left his T-communicator. I didn't like the idea of him going off without it. "Speaking of leaving," I said. "Someone ought to make sure he doesn't leave _this_." Before anyone could volunteer to follow him, I grabbed the device and teleported away.

I was glad that Beast Boy hadn't caught up with the Doom Patrol yet.

"Raven," he asked when I appeared in front of him. Obviously, I had scared him. "What are you doing here?"

I held out his T-communicator, to which he smiled. "You left this behind."

"You noticed, did you?"

Of course he left it on purpose. I eyed him in the mask. It wasn't the same, looking at him with it on. I liked him much better without it.

Beast Boy could tell that I was staring at the mask. "You don't like my old look better?"

I nodded. "The mask looks just as ridiculous as it did last time."

He laughed and the shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. Well, what can you do?"

"I don't like this," I told him. "They don't treat you right."

"They're good people, Raven."

"They don't treat you right because _you_ don't stand up for yourself."

"It's not about that," he said. "I gotta know my place, Raven. I'm not leader."

"You're not leader of the Titans, and _we_ respect you." I sighed and looked away from him. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

His smile returned. "Is that your way of telling me to be careful?" Beast Boy looped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. "You don't have to worry about me, Raven." To emphasize, he gave me a quick kiss.

It was quick, but good. I felt it all the way to my toes. I wish I had more time to spend with him, but he had to leave. "I'm not worried. I just don't want you to do anything stupid."

He smiled again and let me go. "I'll keep in touch whenever I can, okay?" And with that, he disappeared.

And so I went back to the Titans and waited. Robin said that the best idea would be to track him through his T-communicator.

And so we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then, suddenly, there was an explosion and a scream.

"Beast Boy," asked Starfire.

I shook my head. "That sounded more like Robot Man."

"Titans, move out!" cried Robin as he led us through the forest to the site of the explosion.

Giant robotic sentries surrounded our fallen comrade. Out of the three that had surrounded him, it seemed like he'd only managed to take out one. We'd have to handle the others.

Starfire and I teamed up to take out the one on the right. She blasted it, distracting it while my soul-self took over the giant piece of machinery and blew it up from the inside. When I emerged, I found that Robin and Cyborg had taken care of the other one.

"Robot Man," said Cyborg as he helped him sit up. This time he didn't have to fix him.

Robot Man groaned and rubbed his head. "I wasn't out for another five months, was I?"

"No," said Cyborg, "we got here in time. Think you could use our help now?"

"Maybe," Robot Man admitted.

"Where's the rest of the Doom Patrol," I asked. That wasn't my real question. "I wanted to know where Beast Boy was.

"They headed toward the desert."

"Then that's where we'll be going," said Robin.

Robot Man fell in step behind us for the second time in two days. We made it to the desert in record time because there weren't any more sentries for us to deal with. In the distance, we heard shots being fired off along with the cry of a female.

"Elastigirl," Robot Man yelled, as if saying her name would help her at all.

"Titans, come in," cried Beast Boy over our T-communicators. "Do you read me?"

"Beast Boy," said Robin, obviously relieved. "Where are you?"

The sound of static answered him. We knew without a doubt that Beast Boy's T-communicator had been broken.

"Titans, let's move," said Robin quickly.

By the time we got to the scene, Beast Boy had disappeared. There was no sign of him or Mento.

But there was sign of Elastigirl.

Robot Man, Cyborg, and Starfire lifted a giant rock off of her and helped her to her feet. "Cliff," she said gratefully as she smoothed out her outfit. She looked at all of us with gratitude. "Thank you."

"Where's Negative Man," Robot Man asked her as he looked around.

She pointed back to an abandoned body that we had missed trying to get to her. She shook him, but I knew that he wasn't in there. Elastigirl looked down toward her feet. "He's got to be around here, somewhere!"

I folded my legs underneath me and merged into my soul-self. I could sense where he was. He was directly below his body. Just close enough to feel his heat, but too far to reach him.

"Need a lift," I asked him.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. "Very funny. Just get me out of here."

I grabbed onto his hand and pulled him back to the surface. We entered our respective bodies and then nodded at each other.

"Larry," said Elastigirl as she hugged him.

I smiled evilly. "Larry?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "And what's _your_ name? We don't get to choose our _real_ names."

"Where are Beast Boy and Mento," asked Robin.

Elastigirl pointed ahead. "We must hurry. They can't take on the Brotherhood of Evil by themselves."

"They won't have to. Let's move out, team."

Even going as fast as we could possibly go, we still didn't make it to the base until after nightfall. By the time we got to the base, the security had already been taken care of. We heard signs of a struggle inside and found a place to create a doorway in the building.

"I should've warned you," said Robin as we stepped inside. "We're not so great at doing what we're told."

"I'll let it slide," said Mento with a smile. "Let's do this!"

I stood next to Negative Man as he created a shield around our bodies. Our soul-selves escaped the shield and raced through the bodies of the drones. We avoided the ones that Elastigirl was stepping on and the ones that were having holes blasted through their bodies by Cyborg and Starfire.

When we were done, we returned to our bodies and dropped the shield. "Did we win," Negative Man asked as he looked around.

"On the contrary, Negative Man," said the Brain. I looked up and saw that Mallah was dangling Beast Boy over the railing of the quantum generator by his neck. "But I would like to congratulate you all. Reaching the stronghold is no small feat."

The Russian woman standing with them both nodded to Mallah, who tossed Beast Boy down to us. Before any of us could move, Elastigirl grew and then caught Beast Boy in her hands.

"And now that you are here, I believe a demonstration is in order." The top of the Brain's jar began to glow with a neon green light, and his red eyes lit up. "Any place I choose is mine to destroy," he said as a screen appeared behind him. An image appeared behind him. "Perhaps this one."

"He's targetin' the Tower," cried Cyborg.

I watched the rest of the image display. "Not just the Tower," I informed them all. "He's targeting the entire city."

"Now you see why I had such a problem with this guy," said Mento. "Doom Patrol, attack!"

"Titans, go!" cried Robin.

"Immortus, restrain them," said the Brain. More robotic drones ensued.

I spread out my arms and created a shield large enough to get my friends closer to the machine and further into the circle of drones in front of us. Suddenly, the alarms in the building started to go off.

Mento looked back at Beast Boy, who was joining us again. "Beast Boy, you reset the coordinates to _this_ location!"

He _what_?

"Well, yeah," said Beast Boy with a smile. "And unless you wanna see the inside of a black hole, you'd better get out of here."

"Kid's got a point," said Robot Man.

This time I didn't have to help everyone out. We didn't even have to fight our way through. Everyone was so busy trying to get out that no one even bothered with us. We were able to make it to a cliff far away from the building before the quantum generator destroyed it all.

"Let's see them rebuild _that_," said Beast Boy with a large smile.

We trudged back to the Doom Patrol's ship and helped them fix it. When morning came, both teams were ready to go.

Mento placed his hands on his hips. "You kids…You _Titans_ did okay."

It wasn't really an apology for the way he'd been treating us, but it was a start. "You're welcome," I told him in a tone that matched his.

"So what's next," Robin asked him. "The Brotherhood of Evil got away."

Negative Man shrugged. "They'll crawl back to their hole like they always do. I'm sure the Brain's already working on a new plan."

"And we'll be waiting," said Mento with a smile at his teammate. "But next time, we won't be alone."

"Count on it," said Cyborg with a smile back at him.

Elastigirl stepped forward and hugged Beast Boy. "We're all very proud of you, Garfield. Take care." She and the rest of the Doom Patrol boarded their ship and took off.

"Garfield," said Cyborg in a voice that mirrored the confusion I felt.

Beast Boy smiled at us nervously.

"Oh," I growled. "I'm gonna get a _lot_ of mileage out of _this_ one." I didn't do anything until we got to the Tower. Naturally, I stayed behind so that I could talk to Beast Boy. "So, _Garfield_?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, it feels weird having someone call me that. I haven't heard it in so long."

"Would you like for me to start calling you by your name? I'd be _more_ than happy to oblige." I smiled at him, despite myself.

Beast Boy smiled back. "That depends. Is Raven _your_ real name?"

His question stunned me, but only for a moment. "It _was_ Rachel."

"Rachel, huh," he said as he looked over me, as if he was portraying the name on me at that moment. "Hot. Can I call you that?"

"Don't bet on it."

"Then Beast Boy it is for you, then," he said with another smile.

"Did you do it," I asked him.

"Did I do what?"

"Did you stand up for yourself?"

"Yeah…I think I did. Turns out you were right."

"I usually am," I replied as I shrugged my shoulders. Then, because I really do care for him, I allowed myself to get serious. "There are a lot of things I know you can do. I'm just waiting for you to realize it. But I'm glad you did this for yourself. It was important that you did." I smiled again. "I'm proud of you, Beast Boy."

A smug grin spread over his green face. "Are you happy with your _boyfriend_?"

Using that word still sounds weird to me. It's hard getting used to thinking that Beast Boy and I are actually a couple. "Isn't that what I just said?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "You said you were proud of _Beast Boy_. But I asked if you were _happy_ with your _boyfriend_?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Sure there is." He closed the distance between us and leaned toward me.

I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to press down on mine. I found myself waiting for a while.

It never came.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Beast Boy standing in front of me with a giant grin on his face. Anger rose within me. I couldn't believe he'd just tricked me like that.

"_That's_ something that Beast Boy would do," he told me, and I remembered that I was still supposed to be learning something here.

"Okay," I said as I crossed my arms. "And what would my _boyfriend_ do?"

He closed the distance again, but this time, he _did_ kiss me. As his hands found their place at the bottom of my spine, his kisses became more passionate, more intense. I leaned into him, yearning for more of him.

When we finally stopped for a breath, I had to lean against him to keep my balance. Somehow, Beast Boy always has a way of making me feel dizzy after he kisses me.

"Now _that's_ something your boyfriend would do," he whispered into my neck, making me tremble beneath his gentle touch. "So I'll ask you again: are you happy with your boyfriend?"

I looked up at him and smiled. "I think I'll keep him."

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in a while, guys. (I'm not even sure this chapter was really worth all the wait.) The internet at my house was knocked down for while so I couldn't post anything. Then, when it came up, I'd lost all my documents and had to recover them-which took FOREVER! :-( **

**So, anyway, now I'm back, and I will be updating regularly on WEDNESDAYS! All of the updates with my other books have been scheduled as well (just because it got too hectic trying to work on everything at once). I really hope to see you guys back next Wednesday for the next chapter!**

**Thanks for all of your patience and support. Bye!**


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